The now-adult, known as Complainant A, alleges Mr Jones kissed him, put his tongue in his mouth, and touched his buttocks when he visited the radio host at his farm in the Southern Highlands as a 17-year-old. The 85-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of indecent assault and sexually touching relating to five male complainants between 2003 and 2020.
Complainant A said he first reached out to Mr Jones when he was 13 years old, sending the 2GB host a letter asking for help with his family's serious financial struggles. Emails read to the court showed Mr Jones had extensive correspondence with the young boy over a three-year period and used his influence to help the boy's mother renegotiate a more favourable home loan, including $600,000 being wiped off her initial debt. The trial heard Mr Jones also provided more than $100,000 of his own money to help with the completion of the boy's family home and legal fees.
Under cross-examination, defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC raised an email sent by Mr Jones to the boy, three years after they started communicating, in which Mr Jones wrote "enough is enough" and "there must come a point where I have to say, no more". Complainant A said he believed the email expressed frustration but did not take it to mean the end of financial support. When Ms Bashir suggested his intention was "obtaining as much financial assistance from Mr Jones as you possibly could", the complainant replied, "That is not true." Asked whether his mother had that intention, he said, "That is a lie."
The court heard the boy replied, offering to make arrangements to repay the money. Mr Jones replied asking when a legal matter would end and that "he was not a mobile bank". Ms Bashir also questioned the complainant about who drafted specific emails. Complainant A repeatedly said he could not remember.