Sydney:

Renowned Australian broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones was charged on Monday with a series of alleged historic sex crimes, police said, following an investigation into the conservative radio shock.

The 83-year-old is a household name across Australia and has been a huge influence on his top-rated radio show for years.

In a colorful career, he also coached the men’s national rugby team, was a speechwriter for an Australian prime minister and taught at one of the country’s most prestigious schools.

Detectives from a dedicated child abuse team arrested Jones on Monday while executing a search warrant at his luxury apartment in Sydney Harbour.

He was charged with 24 offenses against eight alleged victims between 2001 and 2019, New South Wales police said.

This included 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault against people who had been employed by Jones.

Jones has strongly denied previous allegations of indecent assault which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper late last year.

“We will allege that the accused knew some of them personally. Some of them professionally,” State Crime Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald told reporters.

The youngest victim was 17 at the time of the alleged offense, Fitzgerald said.

“I want to commend the victims and their courage in coming forward.

“They are fully aware, as are the investigators, that the hard work is just beginning.”

Whether as a sports coach, aspiring politician or radio heavyweight, Jones has spent decades in the public eye.

He rose to fame while coaching the Australian rugby team in the 1980s, leading the Wallabies to a rare “grand slam” over England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

His exploits as a coach and administrator earned him a place in the Australian Sports Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1989.

“Powerful, Divisive”

But Jones’ later career as a radio talkback host cemented his influence in Australian public life.

At the height of his power, politicians from both parties struggled to remain friendly with the right-leaning Jones and his hit radio show.

“Over 36 years, Alan Jones has become one of the most powerful, divisive and socially destructive voices the Australian media has ever produced,” academic Denis Muller wrote in 2021.

An Australian court found that in 2005, Jones incited hatred towards Lebanese Australians, fueling race riots in Sydney.

Jones retired from his radio show in 2020.

Throughout his career, Jones made several unsuccessful bids to win a seat in the Australian parliament.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)