Alan Jones’s defence barrister has told a Sydney court one of the broadcaster’s alleged victims invented details of alleged indecent assaults at a Fitzroy Falls farm to “humiliate” and “smear” the former media titan.
Complainant J told the court during evidence-in-chief earlier this week that during one alleged incident in the property’s bedroom, Jones’s penis was not fully erect and “not very big”.
On Friday, J, during cross-examination, denied fabricating his account of alleged indecent assaults at Jones’s farm in the southern highlands more than ۲۰ years ago.
Complainant J, aged in his ۴۰s, is the first alleged victim to give evidence in the trial at Downing Centre local court. Jones, ۸۵, has pleaded not guilty to ۲۲ indecent assault and sexual touching charges involving six men.
J this week alleged in court he did not consent to a kiss near the farm’s pigsty, the touching of his penis on a lounge room couch or sexual touching in the guest bedroom.
Under cross-examination by defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC, complainant J on Friday denied inventing details about Jones’s genitals to humiliate the older man.
Bashir asked: “This account you’ve given of ‘penis wiggling’ is an attempt to humiliate Mr Jones, isn’t it?”
“No,” J replied.
Bashir suggested in court that it was “an attempt to smear him, isn’t it?” J again said: “No.”
J has previously alleged that when visiting the farm as a teenager, he heard a “tap, tap, tap” before Jones came into the bedroom. He told the court that, while they were both wearing robes, Jones wiggled his hips so their penises crossed.
Bashir said: “You cast yourself as ‘impressive’ and Alan as not achieving an erection as part of the humiliation you are trying to describe, didn’t you? So too your comment on Tuesday that ‘it wasn’t very big’.”
“No,” J replied in court on Friday.
Bashir alleged: “You wouldn’t know because you have never seen Mr Jones’s penis.”
Complainant J then said: “Yes, I have.” J said that Jones had remarked that the then teenager’s penis was “impressive”.
He had earlier told the court that Jones’s penis was circumcised and his genitals were hairy. Bashir suggested that he guessed the details because circumcision was likely for an “Anglo-Saxon man of his age – and so too the hair on the genitals”.
J disagreed that he had guessed.
Throughout the cross-examination, Bashir alleged that J was forgetting key details because he had made the whole thing up.
Bashir told the court: “Are you making your evidence up as you go along?”
“No,” complainant J replied.
Bashir challenged J’s memory of his visits to the southern highlands property in the mid-۲۰۰۰s, suggesting in court that he had mixed up occasions, dates and fellow guests.
after newsletter promotion
J agreed that his family was invited to visit the property, and he accompanied them. Bashir said there were inconsistencies in his police statement and his evidence in court regarding how many nights he stayed and which vehicle he drove.
Bashir questioned J in detail about an alleged kiss by Jones while the two men were looking at a pigsty on the farm.
Bashir told the court: “There was no kiss at the pigsty. It was a fabrication.”
J replied: “No, it wasn’t.”
The defence barrister said if J was afraid of being assaulted, as he claimed, he didn’t have to walk into the lounge room wearing a robe after Jones instructed him to shower and come back wearing the robe and nothing else.
She pointed to inconsistencies between his police statement and evidence-in-chief.
Bashir said: “There is nothing in your statement about a robe.” J replied: “I remember he was in a robe.”
Bashir suggested he read about Jones wearing a robe in the media. J denied this but agreed there was no mention of Jones wearing a robe in his statement.
The defence barrister said J’s account of the alleged assaults did not make sense because he was young and fit – and he could have pushed the older Jones away.
Bashir asked if Jones had ever threatened to withdraw his stipend and J said no.
Bashir said: “He never said to you he would pull the money if you didn’t do what he wanted, did he?” J replied: “No.”
J agreed that there were “no repercussions” when he couldn’t make invitations from Jones and that Jones didn’t ask him for favours in return for financial support
Bashir said: “All Mr Jones asked of you was that you dedicate yourself to your career.” J told the court: “That’s not all he asked me.”
The trial continues.
