EXCLUSIVE
Police are actively investigating accusations of serious sexual misconduct against former shock jock Alan Jones and have already interviewed his alleged victims.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal NSW detectives have been quietly probing claims Jones abused his powerful position as Sydney’s reigning talkback radio king.
He is alleged to have preyed on a string of young men, and has been accused of indecently assaulting, groping or inappropriately touching them without consent.
Nine newspapers first reported the allegations almost a year ago, including claims Jones inappropriately kissed and groped a 17-year-old schoolboy who visited his sprawling Southern Highlands estate in 2017.
The allegations relate almost exclusively to his time at Sydney’s leading talkback station, 2GB, but predate its current ownership by Nine Radio.
Jones has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers have described the allegations against him as demonstrably false and defamatory.
He has not been charged with any offences.
Police are investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against broadcaster Alan Jones
Sources familiar with the current police investigation said detectives had already spoken with a number of the 83-year-old’s alleged victims.
They are now in contact with past and present Macquarie Media and Nine Radio colleagues who may have witnessed – or had knowledge of – the alleged abuse.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Jones is guilty of any offence, only that allegations have been made and police are investigating the veracity of those claims.
Nine took a controlling 54.5 per cent stake in the Macquarie Media radio network in 2018 before buying the remaining shares the following year.
Jones parted ways with the network six months later.
Even though the accusations relate to incidents that occurred before Nine’s ownership, it is understood they may have still been raised during the independent investigation into the media empire’s ‘toxic’ workplace culture.
The review, conducted by workplace specialists Intersection and released publicly last month, found Nine had ‘a systemic issue with abuse of power and authority; bullying, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment’.
The report said the company’s noxious culture had been created by ‘a lack of leadership accountability; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the business’.
It was Nine’s own newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, that broke the scandal last December, with investigative reporter Kate McClymont revealing six men had come forward claiming they had been preyed upon by the company’s former breakfast radio star.
Jones has maintained his ensuing year-long absence from his latest media home at online news streaming channel ADH TV is a result of medical advice warning him he is at risk of suffering ‘a cardiac episode’.
Breaking his silence about the accusation in a five-minute clip in March, he also said he ‘refuted’ the allegations against him ‘entirely and the inferences associated with them’.
Jones said he had ‘every intention of returning to broadcasting eventually’, but sources close to the broadcaster said he had no intention of returning to the spotlight in the immediate future and remained on ‘indefinite’ leave.
A year after his exit from 2GB, Jones was dumped as a columnist by The Daily Telegraph before Sky News also dropped him from his eponymous prime-time weeknight news program in November 2022.
The following month, on December 10, Jones announced he would be joining conservative news streaming start-up ADH TV, with his show Alan Jones: Direct to the People quickly amassing a large following on Facebook after it debuted just three days later.
Jones has not appeared on the channel since the allegations of sexual misconduct were reported last December.
He left Australia just before Christmas in the wake of the scandal for an extended stay in London but, in his online clip addressing the accusations in March, he said the trip had been a longstanding commitment for his godson’s 21st birthday.
‘I have wanted to make contact with viewers, listeners, friends and supporters, given that I did indicate I’d be back on air in mid-February, my absence is not what has been suggested by some in the media,’ he said.
‘Health issues have disrupted my plans since my arrival some weeks ago, back into Australia.
‘But the “Get Jones” campaign is nothing new in my life.
As the king of Sydney talkback radio, Jones was one the country’s most powerful personalities
‘Let me explain why I’ve been away, except for the fact that I shouldn’t have to explain my travel arrangements to anybody.
‘I had promised my acting student, godson, that I’d take him for his 21st birthday to see the best of London’s West End theatres.
‘I couldn’t let him down, so we did, including the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford.’
While Jones has not yet returned to the digital venture, he vowed he would be back on-air as soon as he received the all-clear from his physicians.
‘However, I won’t be returning just now because of my latest medical assessments conducted in the last week,’ he said in the clip.
‘Many of you have seen photos of me in the past 18 months with a walking stick.
‘I’ve been putting off necessary surgery for some time because of broadcasting commitments, and to my physical detriment.
‘My doctors are now urging that I address these issues now that I have no upcoming commitments.
Jones says he has been unable to return to work as he struggles with health issues
‘Contrary to what has been written about me, I have been home for some time consulting with doctors, but last weekend to address traumatic pain, amongst other things, urgent medical attention was sought from my specialist physician.’
Jones said he had been advised that because of his ‘current poor mobility, resulting from the severe pain of his condition, and further compounded by his age, the risk of a cardiovascular event, is of considerable concern’.
Jones made a rare public appearance in July when was a guest speaker at a dinner to celebrate Matt Canavan’s 10th anniversary in the Senate at The Paddock restaurant in the coastal town of Yeppoon, just outside Rockhampton, in Queensland.
He appeared in good spirits as he smiled while posing for photographs with other attendees, including Liberal National Party representatives Donna Kirkland and Glen Kelly and former Labor Party powerbroker Graham Richardson.
The broadcaster posed while smiling widely for photographs with the likes of former Labor Party powerbroker Graham Richardson during a rare public appearance in July
He posed with attendees, including Liberal National Party representatives Donna Kirkland and Glen Kelly, at a dinner to celebrate Matt Canavan’s 10th anniversary in the Senate
Although Jones insisted he was still mentally agile, he said his immediate priority was his physical wellbeing.
‘I must now take the medical advice and do everything within my power to preserve my existence in the most comfortable way possible,’ he said in his video in March.
‘I have every intention of returning to broadcasting, but for now, I’ll be focusing on myself, which at my age, I ought to do.
‘If others want to continue to throw stones at me. That is their choice.’
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