By Roxanne "Flashbulb" Starr
Twenty years ago, at a lunch on Sydney's lower north shore, someone cracked a joke. On Monday, that joke became testimony in a courtroom.
Jason Morrison, the shock jock who often filled in for Alan Jones on 2GB, told the radio host's ongoing indecent assault and sexual touching trial that guests at the luncheon had joked Jones and a young male staffer — referred to in court as complainant C — "look like a great couple" as the two sat beside each other at the restaurant. Morrison described the remark as "sarcastic," and said the complainant appeared "stuck" next to Jones during the event.
The trial, now in its fourth week, centers on allegations against Jones, the longtime radio broadcaster once among Australia's most powerful media voices. Morrison's account is one piece of witness testimony being weighed by the court; the underlying allegations remain contested, and no verdict has been reached.
We are reporting only what has been said under oath in open court. Jones has not been convicted of any offense in this matter, and the trial is ongoing. We'll follow it to its conclusion.
If I can't source it, you won't read it here.
— Compiled from reporting by The Guardian.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."