Kate McClymont returns to the witness box
Warning: Graphic content
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of former 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones’ indecent assault and sexual touching trial in the historic Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney.
Today, The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief investigative reporter, Kate McClymont, returns to the witness box for a second day of evidence.
Jones, 85, is standing trial on 19 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching without consent against five male complainants between 2003 and 2020. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies the alleged physical acts occurred.
All five complainants have now given evidence in court. McClymont was called to give evidence by the Crown because she spoke to three of the complainants, dubbed “C”, “A” and “H” to protect their identities, when she was investigating allegations against the former broadcaster.
The Herald published a series of reports by McClymont about Jones in late 2023 and early 2024. Her reporting triggered a police investigation and McClymont gave a statement to police in June 2024.
Jones was arrested in November that year. During cross-examination on Tuesday by Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, McClymont was asked if there was a “profit motive” for newspaper articles.
“The story has to sell papers, doesn’t it?” Bashir asked.
“That’s not my problem, no,” McClymont replied.
“Stories are published to increase the readership of print papers [and] to get clicks online,” Bashir said. “No,” McClymont replied.
Bashir pressed that higher readership numbers encourage advertisers to invest in the newspaper.
“As a general proposition, yes, but that is not my role,” McClymont said.
McClymont said she did not know what impact her reporting on Jones had on readership figures or subscriptions. She agreed that Jones is a very public figure in NSW.
Read more from McClymont’s first day of evidence here.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
Court resumes on Thursday
As reported earlier this afternoon, Judge Glenn Walsh closed the hearing to the public this afternoon after a legal argument arose.
It remained in closed court for the balance of the afternoon. The hearing is expected to resume tomorrow at 10am. The Crown has yet to complete its re-examination of Kate McClymont.
That concludes our live coverage of the proceedings for today. Thank you for reading.
Legal argument pauses hearing
Judge Glenn Walsh has closed the court to the public including media outlets during a legal argument that is the subject of a non-publication order.
We will resume our live coverage when the public portion of the hearing resumes.
Re-examination set to begin
McClymont has returned to the witness box after the lunch break for re-examination by the Crown.
Her evidence is expected to conclude before the end of today.
Lunch break
The cross-examination has now concluded. Kate McClymont will return to the witness box at 2.15pm for re-examination by prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC.
The court takes the lunch break.
‘Media channels were saturated’ with Jones story
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, put to McClymont that her December 2023 articles making allegations against Jones “generated massive interest for The Sydney Morning Herald”.
“Yes,” McClymont said.
“The story was covered, to your knowledge, by media outlets beyond Nine?” Bashir said.
“Yes,” McClymont said.
“I take your word for it,” she replied, when Bashir said the allegations were reported in all forms of media, including through social media.
McClymont agreed it was fair to say “media channels were saturated in December 2023 and again in November 2024” with the allegations she was the first to publish about Jones.
The texts about Jones’ arrest
Kate McClymont is asked about messages she received from Erin Bouda, who was then a NSW Police media spokesperson, starting on November 15, 2024. Jones was arrested on November 18, the court heard.
McClymont agreed with Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, that Bouda’s father worked as a crime reporter for Nine, including for A Current Affair. This masthead is owned by Nine Entertainment.
“It’s Erin Bouda on my personal number,” Bashir read aloud from the text message exchange. “Please save this one as I’ll probably use it to reach out to you when it goes down.”
McClymont agreed she understood this was a reference to the arrest of Jones.
“Can hardly wait!” McClymont replied to Bouda.
After the police statement
McClymont has previously told the court that she provided a statement to police about Jones in June 2024, before the former broadcaster was arrested in November that year.
She agrees that she continued to publish articles about Jones after giving that statement, including attending some court appearances in this case.
McClymont said she had been given “no indication” that she would be a prosecution witness if the Jones case went to trial. She said that once this possibility was raised, she stopped reporting on Jones.
‘This is not the defamation list’
Judge Glenn Walsh steps in to halt a line of questioning by Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, regarding an article co-written by McClymont and a colleague in December 2024 about the first court mention after charges were laid against Jones.
“This is not the defamation list,” the judge said.
McClymont is asked to leave the courtroom during a short legal argument.
McClymont’s conversation with “H”
McClymont is now being asked about her conversation with complainant “H”, who contacted her in January 2024.
“H”, an executive, alleges the then broadcaster placed his hand on the top of his back at an event in Sydney and “went slowly down my back and then rested it on my bottom”.
McClymont agreed that “H” told her it was “not a big deal”.
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, put to McClymont that she suggested to “H” that Jones was using his position of power to get what he wanted, and the complainant “adopted that”. McClymont agreed.
She published his allegation in an article in mid-2024, the court heard. “I said I wouldn’t use his name [or organisation],” McClymont said.
McClymont’s text to complainant’s mother
The court hears that McClymont texted the mother of complainant “A” on March 19, 2024, and said: “All I want to say is Alan Jones is the subject of a police investigation!!!!”
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, asked McClymont if she also texted later that day, “I hope the shit does hit the fan for him!” followed by a smiley face and “two poo emojis”.
“Probably,” McClymont said, and a copy of the messages confirmed that account.
“I think that’s in reply … to her message,” McClymont said.
Months earlier, on December 12, 2023, McClymont said in a WhatsApp message to “A”: “And if police do re-open the investigation, please let me know. That would be BIG news for the story.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
