"There has been a very significant development in Mr Jones's case, his lawyer Bryan Wrench told the court. There are no charges relating to the suggest aggravated indecent assault no aggravation or indeed that Mr Jones had these complainants under his authority, Wrench told deputy chief magistrate Sharon Freund. Wrench said his client entered pleas of not guilty on all of the downgraded charges."
"Wrench said 23 minutes after he was notified by the DPP about those developments, the media had been notified. He called the disclosure of fresh charges and other material being disseminated to media outlets, including the Australian, extraordinary. After initially calling the amount of adjournment time extraordinary, Freund conceded to the request, with the case set down to return to court on 11 November, and the trial set for 2026."
Alan Jones faces 27 charges, including 25 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching relating to nine complainants, after prosecutors removed two complainants and dropped 17 charges from an original 44-charge case. He entered pleas of not guilty on all downgraded charges. The matter will proceed in a local court before a magistrate rather than in the district court before a judge and jury. His lawyer sought an eight-week adjournment citing unresolved disclosure issues and alleged leaks of fresh charges to the media. The case is set to return on 11 November and the trial is scheduled for 2026, with the DPP estimating six weeks.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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