Former Radio Presenter Charged With Sex Crimes In Australia

Alan Jones, a former rugby coach turned radio presenter in Australia, has been charged with several crimes of a sexual nature, police said today.

Inspectors from a squad specializing in combating child abuse arrested the 83-year-old man during a search operation at a luxury apartment in Sydney Harbor.

According to New South Wales state police (southeast), Alan Jones was charged with 24 crimes committed against eight victims between 2001 and 2019, 11 of which constituted aggravated indecent assault.

"The accused knew some of them personally. Some of them professionally," NSW crime police commander Michael Fitzgerald told reporters.

The youngest victim was 17 years old at the time of the incident, Fitzgerald added.

The commissioner explained that the authority that Jones exercised over several of the alleged victims was framed within a relationship of "employment contracts", that is, in an environment where the young people worked for the influential radio host.

Police have indicated that Jones will be on provisional release until December 18, when he is due to appear in court in the capital of New South Wales.

Alan Jones was a teacher in Australian private schools in the 1960s and rose to prominence coaching the men's rugby team in the 1980s, leading the Wallabies to a rare series of victories against great rivals England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

But it was a career as a radio show host and then television shows on the Sky News network, which ended in 2021, that cemented Jones's influence on public life in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers reported in December that Jones had used his position of power since the 1960s, first as a teacher and then as a radio presenter, to allegedly take advantage of several young people.

In 2005, an Australian court concluded that the radio host had incited hatred against Australians of Lebanese origin, causing riots in Sydney.

Throughout his career, conservative Alan Jones made several failed attempts to win a seat in Australia's parliament.