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Alan Jones, the veteran Australian broadcaster and former national rugby team coach, has been arrested over allegations of sexual abuse.

New South Wales Police child abuse detectives arrested Mr Jones, 83, at his home in Sydney’s Circular Quay early on Monday morning.

The arrest followed months of investigations by a strike force set up in March to look into reports of indecent assault and sexual touching between 2001 and 2019, police confirmed in a statement.

Police spent almost three-and-a-half hours searching his apartment, located 300 meters from the Sydney Opera House, after his arrest about 7.45am.

Mr Jones was escorted to the car park of his complex to avoid the gathered media and later taken to Day Street police station in the back of an unmarked police vehicle at around 11am. He was joined on the post by his attorneys, Chris Murphy and Bryan Wrench.

Police said he has not yet been charged.

New South Wales Police Chief Karen Webb described the investigation as “very complex” and “prolonged”, praising officers for their thorough work.

She urged other alleged victims to come forward, pointing out that even historical cases were taken seriously. “There is no matter too old to investigate,” she said. “You will be listened to and we will take your issue seriously.”

Mr Jones, a highly influential figure in the Australian media, used his position of power as a teacher and then a top radio broadcaster to prey on a number of young people, according to reports in Sydney Morning Herald and Age last year.

Mr Jones has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Accusing Mr Jones of assault, a former employee of 2GB, the radio station which broadcast the former coach’s popular show from 2002 to 2020, said: “What he did to me was a crime. He can’t die without people knowing what he’s done.”

The alleged victim was hired when she was in her 20s to do menial jobs for Mr Jones, such as driving him from the station’s Pyrmont studios to his flat.

“During those 10 minutes, there were wandering hands and then gradually it became him grabbing my d***,” he was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald. “You’re driving, you’re totally caught…he’d grope, he’d rub my cock.”

The Independent has contacted Mr. Jones’ lawyers for comment.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns declined to comment on the issue. “We have to let the police carry out this investigation without comment from me and others,” he said.

A former teacher, Mr Jones coached the Wallabies from 1984 to 1988 before embarking on a long and controversial career in broadcasting.

His influence extended into politics, serving as a speechwriter and adviser to prominent figures in the Liberal Party, including former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, although his own political bids were unsuccessful.

Jones built a massive audience hosting the breakfast show on Sydney’s 2GB station, but also attracted controversy. He faced backlash in 2012 for saying the father of then prime minister Julia Gillard was “dying of shame” over the lies he told “every time he ran for parliament”.

He faced an advertising boycott in 2019 after suggesting someone should “shove a sock” down New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s throat.

He retired from full-time broadcasting in 2020 due to health reasons.