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The former Sydney radio host Alan Jones has been charged over alleged historic indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.
Jones was arrested by New South Wales police after a “long, thorough, protracted” investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades at about 7.45am on Monday morning at a unit in Sydney’s Circular Quay.
He was taken to Day Street police station in central Sydney and charged with a total of 24 offences against eight victims, including 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault – victim under authority of offender, nine counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexually touch another person without consent and two counts of common assault.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2019.
Police said the youngest victim was 17 at the time the alleged offences took place.
“In regards to the victims, we will allege that the accused knew some of them personally, some of them professionally. And we’ll also allege that some of the victims when the alleged offence took place, was the first time that they ever met the accused.”
Police confirmed that at least one victim was employed by or with Jones.
Jones has previously denied all allegations against him. Police spent three-and-a-half hours searching Jones’s harbourside apartment at Macquarie Street, 300 metres from Sydney Opera House and a few floors up from fine dining restaurant Aria.
Jones remained in the building while half a dozen officers searched the flat, before being escorted out via the complex’s carpark, avoiding the assembled media camped out by the building’s green marble doorway.
He was taken to Day Street police station in the CBD in the back of an unmarked police car just after 11am.
Wearing a green jacket and holding what appeared to be a walking stick, Jones said nothing and looked straight ahead as he and three officers in the car drove past reporters into the station.
They were joined at the station before midday by lawyers Chris Murphy and Bryan Wrench.
The arrest came after months of investigation by NSW police, which began in March to investigate a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.
Michael Fitzgerald, the commissioner in charge of the State Crime Command, commended the investigators for “their tenacity and hard work in brining this matter before the courts”.
“Historical matters such as this are incredibly hard to investigate and bring before the courts and I again congratulate them on their ongoing investigation that will continue.”
The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, told reporters on Monday police were anticipating more people may come forward and said the arrest was the result of “long, thorough, protracted investigation”.
“I did visit the strike force some weeks and months ago,” she said. “It is very complex and protracted and I know that those officers have been working tirelessly.”
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The state premier, Chris Minns, declined to comment on what he described as a “major investigation”.
“We need to let police conduct this inquiry free of commentary from me and others,” he said.
Jones was granted conditional bail, to appear before Downing Centre local court on 18 December.
Jones hosted breakfast radio in Sydney on 2GB for nearly 20 years. For much of that time he was one of the nation’s most influential media personalities.
His radio career was marked by controversies, including comments that the prime minister Julia Gillard had lied and that her late father had “died of shame” as a result. In 2019 he also made comments about the New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, saying someone should “shove a sock” down her throat.
Jones’s career also spanned teaching, politics and sport. After leaving school he trained as a teacher, and worked across different schools in Queensland and NSW for much of the 1960s and 70s.
Before his radio career Jones tried to enter politics. He launched several failed attempts at preselection for federal parliament and unsuccessfully ran for the NSW parliament.
Jones served as a speechwriter for Malcolm Fraser, the Liberal prime minister, until 1981.
In 1984 Jones became the coach of the Wallabies, the Australian men’s rugby union team. During his time at the helm the team enjoyed significant success.