Athlete's ex-girlfriend recounts reaction after his visit to Alan Jones: 'Like he'd seen a ghost'

By ADELAIDE LANG AND TOM WARK FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 03:13, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 03:13, 12 August 2026 Even 20 years later, an ex-girlfriend remembers how an athlete looked when he returned from a sleepover with radio giant Alan Jones. Head down, eyes wide but averted, uncomfortable. 'It was like he'd seen a ghost,' she testified in court on Tuesday. It was at that moment the teen allegedly dropped a bombshell she would remember all these years on: 'Alan Jones touched me inappropriately.' The athlete, now in his 40s, is one of six men who allege the talkback titan kissed, groped or subjected them to sexual misconduct between 2003 and 2020 across Sydney and the NSW Southern Highlands. Jones has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching without consent against the men, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. The 85-year-old is accused of inviting the teenage athlete to his home in the NSW Southern Highlands and indecently assaulting him six times, including by groping him while he drove. Alan Jones is facing 22 charges, including indecent assault and sexual touching offences involving six men  Alan Jones arrives at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney today  Three more alleged indecent assaults took place in Sydney, according to the athlete. His ex-girlfriend told Jones's local court hearing that the athlete was 'not himself' when he came to her house after leaving Jones's property and disclosed the alleged groping. When she asked if he wanted to report it, she said she received 'a very firm no' in response. 'You can't tell anybody about this,' the athlete allegedly told her aggressively. They stayed in touch after breaking up and he reached out to her in 2024. 'I'd like to come forward and tell my truth,' the athlete allegedly said. She replied that it was important and recalled him telling her about the alleged groping years ago in her lounge room, a detail he said he had forgotten. The athlete had not told his mother or his brother about the alleged indecent assaults until after Jones had been arrested in 2024, the Downing Centre Local Court was told. The trial against the veteran broadcaster started on August 3 'This is the hardest thing that I've ever had to tell you,' his brother recalled the athlete saying. 'You've probably seen the news about (Jones). I'm one of the people who has come forward.' When his brother asked why he hadn't told him earlier, he said the athlete told him he didn't want the money and support Jones gave him to end. Jones had bought the athlete a mobile phone, a car and paid him a weekly stipend of up to $600 a week for nine years so he could focus on sport. When the brother asked how bad the alleged indecent assaults had been, the athlete allegedly replied in graphic terms. 'He said, "Nothing too bad, he didn't try to f*** me or anything like that. He would try, he would grab me on the cock or to kiss me",' the brother told the court. But he says he never saw Jones act inappropriately towards the athlete, who had in turn never told him he was frightened of the former Wallabies coach or trying to avoid him. The longtime shock jock had offered to help the athlete's brother pay for an engagement ring and bought the newlyweds an expensive dinner set, the court was told. Evidence has been heard from an athlete in the trial of Alan Jones  The athlete similarly refrained from telling his mother before he went to police, explaining that he thought she would push him to come forward when he wasn't ready. 'I thought exactly what's happened here (would happen),' he told the court. 'I would be called a liar and I would be crushed in court and no one would believe me.' During three gruelling days of cross-examination, he accepted there were inconsistencies in his statements but insisted he was doing his best to recall events from two decades ago. Jones is accused of indecently assaulting and sexually touching the complainants at a time when he dominated Sydney's airwaves, winning the breakfast slot 226 times. National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.