Ray Hadley text messages to Alan Jones complainant aired in court as trial enters fourth week
Text messages from retired 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley about his former colleague Alan Jones were read in court on Wednesday, adding a sharp new layer
Text messages from retired 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley about his former colleague Alan Jones were read in court on Wednesday, adding a sharp new layer to Jones’s indecent assault and sexual touching trial in Sydney. Jones has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges, and the NSW Local Court case is now in its fourth week.
Messages and a warning
The court heard that Hadley told one of the complainants, known as Complainant C, that Jones “needs to be destroyed.” The retired host also said he would not rest until they “bury him,” according to the messages revealed in court.
Complainant C, a former colleague of Jones, has alleged the veteran broadcaster kissed him in a work lift on multiple occasions in 2008 and touched his crotch on a number of occasions. Jones, now 85, denies all allegations.
The text messages were disclosed after the trial previously heard that Complainant C confided in Hadley in October 2019. Hadley was back in the witness box on Wednesday for a second day of cross-examination, after a brief legal argument the day before.
Confrontation in the courtroom
Jones could be seen staring at Hadley as he returned to the stand, a tense moment in a case that has already drawn heavy attention in Australia’s media circles. The two men have long occupied prominent places in Sydney radio, and the courtroom exchange has turned that history into part of the evidence.
Hadley accepted a suggestion by defence barrister Gabriell… before the hearing moved on. The trial continues, with Jones maintaining his not-guilty pleas to all 22 charges.
The case is being closely watched well beyond Australia. Jones has spent decades as one of the country’s best-known broadcasters, and the proceedings now hinge not just on the allegations from former colleagues, but also on the private messages and conversations that surfaced years later.
