In a Sydney courtroom, a fourth man has described the particular silence of those who feel powerless in the presence of the powerful — a moment of unwanted touch endured without protest, not from consent, but from the weight of social consequence. The trial of retired broadcaster Alan Jones, once among Australia's most commanding media voices, continues at the Downing Centre local court, where 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching are being examined across allegations spanning nearly two decades. Jones denies all of it, and the courtroom has become a place where memory, power, and
Fourth accuser testifies Jones groped him at Sydney event
Executive experienced unwanted sexual touching and reported feeling powerless and disgusted by the incident.
I felt powerless in that situation
Mark
Why didn't he say anything in the moment? That's what strikes me—he was there, he felt it happen, but he stayed silent.
Mimi
He explained it clearly: he didn't want to cause a scene. There's a real vulnerability in that admission. He felt powerless, even though he was standing in a room with other people.
Luke
That's important to name, though. We're hearing his interpretation of why he stayed silent. We don't know what Jones thought was happening, what his intent was. The charge is sexual touching without consent—the silence itself becomes part of the evidence of non-consent.
Mark
So the silence is actually significant legally, not a weakness in the complaint.
Mimi
Exactly. And what's striking is that he told people immediately—his boss that night, a colleague days later. He didn't sit on it for years before deciding to come forward.
Luke
Right, but we should be careful here. He didn't go to police until after he saw the 2023 article and spoke to McClymont. That's a gap of years. That's not unusual, but it's worth noting.
Mark
Why do you think he came forward at all, then? What changed?
Mimi
Seeing other people's allegations. Realizing he wasn't alone. And his own words are telling—he said it helped him understand what women experience. That recognition seemed to matter.
Luke
The journalist's role is interesting too. He didn't authorize publication, but McClymont ran the story anyway. That's going to be contested, I'd imagine.
Mark
So when McClymont testifies, that's going to be a key moment.
Mimi
It will be. She's the bridge between his private disclosure and his public accusation. How she handled that matters to the case.
Le Pouls
- A business executive told the court he stood frozen as Jones ran a hand down his spine and rested it on his buttocks, choosing silence over confrontation to spare those around him from a scene.
- The executive confided in his boss that same night and a colleague shortly after, saying the experience made him understand for the first time what women endure — words that now carry legal weight.
- Years later, a 2023 Sydney Morning Herald article on Jones cracked something open in him; he contacted journalist Kate McClymont, only to find his account published without his explicit authorisation.
- He then made a formal police statement, and chose to face Jones directly in court rather than testify remotely — a deliberate act of presence in a trial built on contested memory.
- Jones maintains every allegation across nearly two decades is fabricated, and with McClymont's testimony still ahead, the trial's most contested questions remain unresolved.
In a Sydney courtroom, a fourth man has described the particular silence of those who feel powerless in the presence of the powerful — a moment of unwanted touch endured without protest, not from consent, but from the weight of social consequence. The trial of retired broadcaster Alan Jones, once among Australia's most commanding media voices, continues at the Downing Centre local court, where 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching are being examined across allegations spanning nearly two decades. Jones denies all of it, and the courtroom has become a place where memory, power, and credibility are being weighed against one another — one testimony at a time.
On Tuesday, a business executive took the stand at Sydney's Downing Centre local court to describe a moment he had carried in silence for years. At a social event, he said, Alan Jones placed a hand on his back, drew it slowly downward, and let it settle on his buttocks. The executive did not move or speak. He told the court he stayed still because he did not want to cause a scene — and what he felt instead was paralysis, a sense of having no power at all.
His testimony made him the fourth person to give evidence against Jones, who faces 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching spanning allegations from 2003 to 2020. One charge was withdrawn earlier in the week. Jones has pleaded not guilty to all remaining counts.
The executive said he met Jones only that once. Afterward, he told his boss that same evening and confided in a colleague in the days that followed. He recalled describing the experience as making him understand, for the first time, what women have long endured. Jones later sent a thank-you email; the executive replied. They never met again.
The story did not resurface until 2023, when a colleague sent him a link to a Sydney Morning Herald article detailing allegations against Jones. He reached out to the article's author, journalist Kate McClymont — but when a subsequent piece appeared including his account, he was upset to find it published without his explicit permission. McClymont is scheduled to testify later in the trial. The executive subsequently made a formal statement to police and chose to appear in court in person rather than give evidence remotely.
Jones denies the charge relating to this executive, as he does all allegations in the case. The trial continues, with the journalist's testimony still to come and the events of that Sydney evening still fiercely disputed.
In a Sydney courtroom on Tuesday, a business executive described a moment of unwanted contact that he chose not to resist. Years ago at a social event in the city, he said, Alan Jones—then one of Australia's most powerful radio voices—had placed a hand on his back, run it down his spine, and let it rest on his buttocks. The executive didn't move. He didn't speak. He stood there, he told the court, because he didn't want to make a scene, didn't want to ruin the evening for others around him. What he felt instead was a kind of paralysis, a sense that he had no power in the moment.
This was the fourth person to take the stand against Jones in the Downing Centre local court, where the retired broadcaster faces 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. One charge was withdrawn on Monday. Jones has pleaded not guilty to all remaining counts. The executive's testimony added another layer to allegations spanning from 2003 to 2020, the final year of Jones's 35-year career in broadcasting.
The executive told the court he had met Jones only that single time. After the alleged groping, he said nothing to Jones himself. Instead, he went to his boss that night and confided in a colleague in the days that followed. "I felt disgusting and powerless," he recalled telling them, "and it's really the first time I have understood what women have been going through for all these years." Jones sent him a thank-you email after the event. The executive replied. They never saw each other again.
Years passed. In 2023, the executive's colleague sent him a link to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald detailing allegations against Jones. Reading it, something shifted. He reached out to the article's author, Kate McClymont, to tell her what had happened to him. He didn't authorize her to publish his account, but when her next piece appeared with his allegations included, he was upset. McClymont is scheduled to testify later in the trial. After speaking with the journalist, the executive made a formal statement to police.
Jones is charged with one count of sexual touching without consent in relation to this executive's allegations, which he denies. The executive is one of five complainants in the case and chose to face Jones in person rather than give evidence remotely. The former Wallabies coach maintains that all the allegations against him—spanning nearly two decades of his broadcasting dominance—have been fabricated. The trial continues, with the journalist's testimony still to come and the question of what happened at that Sydney event years ago still contested in court.
Citations marquantes
I didn't want to cause a scene. I thought that could potentially ruin the night. To be honest, I felt a little bit powerless in that situation.— The executive, testifying in court
I felt disgusting and powerless and it's really the first time I have understood what women have been going through for all these years.— The executive, recounting what he told colleagues after the alleged incident
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Crime & Justice