Latest news with #BryanWrench
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- The Guardian
Some witness statements ‘blatantly contradictory' to Alan Jones sexual assault allegations, court hears
Some witnesses have told police that Alan Jones did not engage in 'any sexual or inappropriate behaviour', the former broadcaster's lawyer has told Sydney's Downing Centre local court. Jones was excused from Tuesday's committal hearing but his lawyer Bryan Wrench asked for an extension to allow the department of public prosecutions (DPP) to consider whether they want to go ahead with all the charges. The 84-year-old has been charged with 35 historical sexual assault offences allegedly committed in various places in New South Wales, including Newtown, Sydney city, Fitzroy Falls, Alexandria and Tamworth. Jones is a former 2GB and Sky News Australia broadcaster. Wrench said he received the brief of evidence from the DPP on Monday and some of the witness statements are 'blatantly contradictory to some of the allegations'. 'Some of the witnesses said they had never seen Mr Jones engage in any sexually inappropriate behaviour at all,' he said. The DPP should consider 'whether this matter will be proceeding' Wrench said in a brief hearing before magistrate Daniel Covington. Covington asked how many complainants were involved in R v Alan Belford Jones and the DPP said there were 11. The ages of the victims are not disclosed in the charge sheets but police have said previously the youngest was 17 at the time of the alleged offence. According to a court document made available to media in March, Jones allegedly assaulted his 11th victim by grabbing and squeezing his bottom in Tamworth in June 2013. Wrench was granted an eight-week extension in agreement with the DPP. He was arrested at his unit in Sydney's Circular Quay on 18 November last year after a 'long, thorough, protracted' investigation. Jones appeared for the first time at the Downing Centre local court in December 2024, where it was confirmed he would face a jury trial and his lawyer said he would plead not guilty to the 34, now 35, charges. Police set up Strike Force Bonnefin in March 2024 to investigate alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents allegedly involving Jones, after they were raised by the Sydney Morning Herald's investigative reporter Kate McClymont. Jones has denied all wrongdoing and said he was planning legal action against Nine newspapers for the 'demonstrably false' allegations. According to the charge sheets seen by Guardian Australia, there were 11 alleged offences against one man, Complainant C, between 2008 and 2009, including touching his inner thigh, rubbing his penis and kissing him on the mouth. Police allege Jones kissed another man 'using his tongue' at Fitzroy Falls in 2017, resulting in a charge of assault with an act of indecency. In 2001, the broadcaster is alleged to have touched and fondled the penis of another man and on a separate occasion 'kissed him on the lips'. Police allege in another case Jones stroked a man's right thigh, touched his bottom and 'touched his penis pulling his scrotum'. In 2012 he is alleged to have 'touched and squeezed' the bottom of a man. The matter has been held over until 8 July 2025.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- ABC News
Alan Jones's lawyer says evidence 'blatantly contradictory' to indecent assault allegations
Alan Jones's lawyer has told a court the brief of evidence against the former broadcaster contains witness statements that are "blatantly contradictory" to the allegations against him. Mr Jones was arrested last year after a nine-month investigation by NSW Police's Child Abuse Squad, and is now facing dozens of historical indecent assault and sexual touching charges. It's alleged these assaults took place between 2001 and 2019. The case was briefly mentioned in Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday morning, where it was adjourned for eight weeks. In court, the 83-year-old's lawyer Bryan Wrench suggested prosecutors should use the adjournment to "decide whether to proceed" with the case. "Witnesses said they have never seen Mr Jones engage in any sexually inappropriate behaviour at all," Mr Wrench told the court. Mr Jones was not in attendance during the Tuesday hearing, having been excused from appearing last year. He is facing charges including 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault, 20 counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexually touching another person without consent and two counts of common assault. NSW Police claimed he knew some of the alleged victims personally and professionally, and the youngest complainant was aged 17 years old when the alleged offences occurred. The most serious charge he faces is aggravated indecent assault, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment for each alleged offence. In March, police laid an additional charge involving an 11th complainant. After leaving his first court appearance in December, Mr Jones told the media he was not guilty and would be defending every charge against him. "I will not be engaging in a running commentary in the media. But, I want you to understand this: these allegations are all either baseless or they distort the truth and you should know that prior to my arrest I was given no opportunity by police to answer any of these allegations," Mr Jones said. He is yet to formally enter a plea or be committed to trial. The matter will return to court on July 8.
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- News.com.au
Lawyer for Alan Jones makes shock claim in court
A lawyer for embattled former radio giant Alan Jones has told a court some witness's statements are 'blatantly contradictory'. The former 2GB host and Wallabies coach did not appear in person before the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, after he was charged late last year to 35 separate charges, relating to allegations he indecently assaulted, groped, or inappropriately touched a number of young men. He is yet to enter any formal pleas. Bryan Wrench, solicitor for the 83-year-old, told the court since Mr Jones's last occasion they have received a brief of evidence, and they are seeking an eight week extension in the 'interest of justice'. 'There are a number of statements … we feel [are] blatantly contradictory to some of the allegations,' he said on Tuesday. He told the court some of the witnesses claimed they 'had never seen Mr Jones engage in any sexually inappropriate behaviour at all'. Mr Wrench also told the court it is for the prosecution to consider whether they will proceed with the matter. His matter will next be mentioned in court on July 8, however, Mr Jones is excused on that occasion. His bail is to continue. Police revealed in March that they had since charged Mr Jones with an additional count of assault with act of indecency, bringing the number of alleged victims to 11. The initial charges include an aggravated indecent act and sexually touching a person without consent, and are alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2019. Police alleged the acts occurred at a range of locations, including Mr Jones's former home in Newtown, his luxury Circular Quay apartment, and a property at Fitzroy Falls. Mr Jones was arrested at his harbourside apartment on November 18 following an ongoing police investigation.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns shares troubling message to social media on his 46th birthday
has announced that he is taking a hiatus from social media, as he celebrates his 46th birthday. The Silverchair frontman posted to Instagram to mark the occasion on Tuesday, but added a cryptic message that implied he was in need of solitude, perhaps to work on a new art project. 'The beautiful thing about time, is that it is always in the eye of the beholder. Art is exactly the same' the Australian rocker wrote. 'As an artist you never know what time it is. It's an ongoing quest to interpret happiness and sadness with a sprinkling of absurdity. It's drama. It's comedy. It's poetry. It's a song. It's cinema' he continued. 'Everything is beautiful if you let it be.' Johns concluded the post: 'I have to go back in time to finalise something and as a result I won't be on socials, my team will keep an eye on things. I will have my phone. All is love'. The rock star has stayed largely out of the spotlight the past few years, after highly publicised legal and substance abuse issues. In 2022, Johns released his second solo album, FutureNever, while in rehab. In a statement published through his record label BMG the troubled rock star described the album as 'manic' and said he's no longer 'running' from his past. Johns checked into rehab in late March, 2022 after he was pulled over on the Pacific Highway at North Arm Cove near Newcastle, NSW on March 23, and recorded a blood-alcohol reading of more than three times the legal limit. He pleaded guilty. Police said Johns had crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and collided with a van on the Pacific Highway near Newcastle on March 23. His lawyer Bryan Wrench entered a guilty plea on Johns' behalf at Raymond Terrace Local Court on April 11, 2022. Johns dodged a jail sentence for high-range drink driving after a magistrate ruled time behind bars would be of little benefit to the 'deeply troubled' rock star. He was given a 10-month intensive corrections order - a court sentence of two years or less which is served in the community under the strict supervision of Community Corrections. The star was also disqualified from driving for seven months and ordered to install an alcohol-reading interlock device to his car for 24 months once he gets his licence back. Johns' lawyer Bryan Wrench said his client was at pains to show the court how serious he had taken the charge since entering rehab and his subsequent discharge by remaining abstinent from alcohol. In a phone call transcribed from rehab and posted to his Instagram account on April 16, 2022, Johns addressed his relationship with alcohol and also offered an apology. 'My drinking had become a bigger problem than I even realised, and how I have used it to help numb a range of deeper psychological issues that I've been living with since childhood,' he said. 'Some of these issues you know, and a lot cut much deeper. Alcohol is not medicine. I should never have treated it like it was. I feel like a complete f**k-up and I'm sorry. 'I take full responsibility for my actions on the evening of March 23rd, I am deeply remorseful and I am working every day to make amends. I am handling these matters professionally and privately.' Shortly after the accident in March, Johns posted that he had been suffering from 'panic attacks' and the accident occurred after becoming 'lost' on the road. 'As you know, my mental health is a work in progress. I have good days and bad days but it's something I always have to manage,' he said. 'Over the last week I began to experience panic attacks. Last night I got lost while driving and I was in an accident. I am OK, everyone is OK. 'Alongside my therapy, I've been self-medicating with alcohol to deal with my anxiety and depression. I know this is not sustainable or healthy. 'I have to step back now as I'm self-admitting to a rehabilitation centre and I don't know how long I'll be there. Appreciate your love and support as always.' The drink-driving crash came just weeks after Daniel slammed his Silverchair 'colleagues' for allegedly not supporting him when he was gravely ill in 2002. The singer and guitarist revealed in a Facebook post that he'd been diagnosed with reactive arthritis, an inflammation of the joints that left him in crippling pain, when the band was launching their fourth album Diorama. Johns, who also was being treated for anxiety and anorexia at the time, claimed he did not receive the help he needed, and felt his band was 'more of a business than family'. Daniel's Silverchair bandmates Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou recently revealed exactly how the iconic rock band ended. Writing about Silverchair's demise in their joint memoir, the pair claimed Daniel put them on an 'emotional rollercoaster' by breaking up the band multiple times - only to then change his mind. However, things finally came to an end when the trio performed at the Groovin' The Moo music festival in 2010. Ben said he received a 'confusing call' from Daniel shortly after the performance, saying the two words: 'It's inevitable.' While Daniel never explicitly said the band was breaking up, Ben and Chris were later informed by their manager it was over and that a press release announcing their 'indefinite hiatus' would be going out to the media. The former bandmates rose to fame as as 15-year-olds and took the world by storm with their debut album Frogstomp in 1995, before splitting in 2011. The musicians have said they had 'drifted apart' from Johns since Silverchair disbanded.
