EXCLUSIVE
Police are actively investigating allegations 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 investigating claims Jones abused his powerful position as Sydney’s reigning talkback radio king.
He is alleged to have preyed on a series 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 that 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 Nine Radio’s flagship 2GB station in Sydney.
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 criminal offences.
Police are investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against broadcaster Alan Jones
Sources familiar with the current police investigation say detectives have already spoken to some of the 83-year-old’s alleged victims.
They are now in contact with former and current colleagues from Macquarie Media and Nine Radio who may have witnessed – or had knowledge of – the alleged abuse.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Jones is guilty of any crime, only that allegations have been made and police are investigating the veracity of these claims.
It is understood the allegations against Jones may also have been made during the independent cultural investigation into Nine’s ‘toxic’ work environment.
Jones spent his last two years at 2GB under the leadership of the media giant, which acquired a controlling 54.5 percent stake in Macquarie Media in 2018 before purchasing the remaining shares the following year.
The allegations against Jones come amid accusations that there was a widespread culture of cover-up against Nine, which allowed predatory behavior within the company to go unchecked for decades.
The independent investigation, conducted by workplace culture experts Intersection and released publicly last month, found Nine had “a systemic problem with abuse of power and authority; bullying, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment’.
According to the report, the company’s harmful culture was created by ‘a lack of accountability from leadership; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the company.”
It was Nine’s own newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, that broke the scandal last December, with investigative journalist Kate McClymont revealing that six men had come forward claiming they had been preyed upon by the company’s former breakfast radio star.
Jones has maintained his subsequent year-long absence from his latest media home on online news streaming channel ADH TV. This follows medical advice warning him he is at risk of a ‘heart attack’.
In March, he broke his silence on the accusation in a five-minute segment, also saying he “completely refuted” the allegations against him and the inferences attached to them.
Jones said he had ‘an intention to return to broadcasting eventually’, but sources close to the broadcaster said he had no intention of returning to the spotlight in the near future and remained on ‘indefinite’ leave .
A year after leaving 2GB, Jones was dumped as a columnist by The Daily Telegraph before Sky News also dropped him from its eponymous primetime weekday news program in November 2022.
The following month, on December 10, Jones announced that he would be joining conservative news streaming startup ADH TV, with his show Alan Jones: Direct to the People quickly amassing a large following on Facebook after debuting just three days later .
Jones has not appeared on the network since the sexual misconduct allegations 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 allegations in March he said the trip had been a long-term commitment for his godson’s 21st birthday.
‘I wanted to connect with viewers, listeners, friends and supporters. Since I had indicated that I would be back on air by mid-February, my absence is not what is being suggested by some in the media,” he said. .
‘Health issues have disrupted my plans since arriving back in Australia several weeks ago.
“But the ‘Get Jones’ campaign is nothing new in my life.
As king of talkback radio in Sydney, Jones was one of the country’s most powerful personalities
“Let me explain why I’ve been away, other than the fact that I don’t have to explain my travel arrangements to anyone.
‘I promised my acting student godson that for his 21st birthday I would take him to the best theaters of the West End in London.
‘I couldn’t let him down and so we did, including the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford.’
Although Jones has not yet returned to the digital venture, he promised he would be back on the air as soon as he received the all-clear signal from his doctors.
“However, I will not be returning at the moment due to my final medical tests this past week,” he said in the clip.
“Many of you have seen pictures of me with a cane over the past year and a half.
‘I have postponed a necessary operation for some time due to broadcasting obligations and to my physical disadvantage.
‘My doctors are now insisting that I address these issues now that I have no future commitments.
Jones says he cannot return to work because he is struggling with health problems
‘Contrary to what has been written about me, I have been consulting with doctors at home for a while, but last weekend urgent medical help was sought from my specialist for traumatic pain, among other things.’
Jones said he was told that because of his “current poor mobility, due to the severe pain of his condition, and compounded by his age, the risk of a cardiovascular event is of high significance.”
Jones made a rare public appearance in July when he was a guest speaker at a dinner celebrating 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 cheerful as he smiled as he posed for photos with other attendees, including Liberal National Party representatives Donna Kirkland and Glen Kelly and former Labor Party power broker Graham Richardson.
The broadcaster posed, smiling broadly, for photos with former Labor Party power broker Graham Richardson, among others, during a rare public appearance in July
He posed with attendees, including Liberal National Party representatives Donna Kirkland and Glen Kelly, at a dinner celebrating Matt Canavan’s 10th anniversary in the Senate.
While Jones insisted he was still mentally limber, he said his physical well-being was his immediate priority.
“I must now follow the medical advice and do everything within my power to maintain my existence in the most comfortable way possible,” he said in his video in March.
‘I plan to return to broadcasting, but for now I’m focusing on myself, which I should be doing at my age.
‘If others want to keep throwing stones at me. That’s their choice.’