Australian police charge former radio show host Alan Jones with assault

SYDNEY: Australian police on Monday charged former radio show host Alan Jones with 24 counts of assault and sexual touching; The indictments followed accusations in a newspaper that Jones had been assaulting young men for decades.

Police confirmed the arrest and charges against an 83-year-old man in Sydney but did not name him.

He was widely identified by Australian media as Alan Jones, and TV footage on Monday showed him arriving at a police station in a police car.

Police allege the crimes were committed between 2001 and 2019 against eight victims who Jones knew professionally or personally. They said the youngest was 17 at the time of the crime.

New South Wales police deputy commissioner Michael Fitzgerald told a news conference it was likely more victims would come forward following the charges.

Reuters He sought comment from Jones. He denied the assault allegations made against him last year. Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. Police said the “energy” created by the stories helped bring the case to court.

Jones had been hosting radio shows for decades and was the anchor for popular programs. Sydney breakfast show at the radio station 2GB Approximately 18 years until 2020.

A well-known conservative “shock jock,” listeners knew Jones for his sharp questions and equally sharp tongue. In 2019, he said then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison should give his then-New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern “some backhanders” and “stick a sock down her throat” over her views on climate change.

Jones has faced defamation lawsuits multiple times.

after leaving 2GBHe was working at a digital start-up but had not been on air since the broadcast. Sydney Morning Herald allegations were made.