Ahead of the trial starting next month, four indecent assault charges against veteran broadcaster Alan Jones have been dropped.
The charges were dropped after prosecutors told Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court they would not go ahead with those specific allegations and asked for them to be formally dismissed.
This decision cuts the number of complainants in the case from eight to six, but Jones still faces 22 charges, most of them indecent assault offences. The 85‑year‑old has pleaded not guilty to all remaining charges and denies any wrongdoing.
Three of the withdrawn charges were linked to a man known in court papers as “Complainant D” and alleged incidents at a Kiama restaurant in 2008.
It had been alleged that Jones stroked the man’s thigh, patted his bottom and touched his penis over the outside of his clothing.
The fourth dropped charge related to “Complainant G” and a claim that Jones rubbed the complainant’s leg up towards his crotch during a performance at the Sydney Opera House more than a decade ago. With those allegations now out of the case, Complainants D and G are no longer involved.
This isn’t the first time the case has changed shape before getting to trial. In June, another indecent assault charge linked to a different complainant was dropped, which meant that person also left the proceedings.
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In September 2025, 11 aggravated indecent assault counts were replaced with lesser offences and some complainants were removed from the case. Those changes meant the matter stayed in the Local Court to be heard by a magistrate, rather than moving up to the District Court to be heard by a jury.
Jones was first charged in 2024 over claims of historical sex offences involving 11 people and alleged to have taken place between 2003 and 2020.
The youngest complainant was 17-years-old at the time of the alleged offence. Jones was arrested in November 2024 and has since entered not guilty pleas to every charge. He has previously said the allegations are “all either baseless or they distort the truth” and continues to maintain his innocence as the trial approaches.
Pre‑trial hearings are now underway at the Downing Centre ahead of what is expected to be a long hearing starting in early August and running towards the end of the year.
From Pedestrian.TV