Australian radio host arrested over sex abuse claims

Veteran Australian broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones has been arrested after an investigation into a series of sexual abuse allegations, local media have reported.

New South Wales Police said detectives from the Child Abuse Squad took an 83-year-old man into custody at an apartment in Sydney’s Circular Quay early on Monday morning, before searching the property.

A strike force was set up in March to investigate several indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019, they said in a statement.

Mr Jones is one of Australia’s most prominent media figures, and has previously denied allegations of abuse, first published by The Sydney Morning Herald in 2023.

A former teacher, Mr Jones coached Australia’s national rugby union team between 1984 and 1988, before pivoting to a radio career.

He was a staple of Sydney airwaves on local station 2GB for decades, also hosting a commentary show on Sky News Australia before he retired from full time work in 2020 citing health issues.

Police are expected to update the media later Monday.