Outspoken radio host and former teacher Alan Jones has pleaded not guilty to dozens of sexual abuse charges after several charges against him were withdrawn.
The 84-year-old had been accused of historical sex offences against 11 people - the youngest of whom was 17 at the time - over two decades when he dominated Sydney's airwaves.
He was facing a total of 35 charges of sexual abuse before prosecutors added charges against him earlier this week.
But the landscape of the case changed again on Thursday when prosecutors withdrew more than a dozen charges and amended remaining counts in the Downing Centre Local Court.
Jones now faces 25 charges of indecent assault and two of sexual touching against nine alleged victims.
Prosecutors did not explain in court why the charges related to two victims are no longer being pursued.
The move removed any allegations of aggravated conduct or that any of the alleged victims were under Jones' authority at the time of the alleged abuse, Jones's lawyer told the court.
"They are not fresh allegations," Bryan Wrench said.
"It is a downgrade."
Jones formally pleaded not guilty to all the charges through Mr Wrench, with the matter set to proceed to a local court hearing in 2026.
Mr Wrench accused the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of doing a "backflip" on the decision to take the matter to trial, which his client had been preparing for since "day dot".
He estimated the court hearing could run for up to five months, in part due to extensive unresolved pre-trial issues.
"We raised a number of issues with the illegality of the search (of my client's house), illegality of telephone intercepts, as well as disclosure, which still have not been resolved," Mr Wrench said.
Crown solicitor Emma Curran estimated the hearing would run for six weeks, but she was hopeful the duration could be reduced with discussions.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund noted such a lengthy hearing would add a "massive strain on the already stretched resources of this court".
She adjourned the matter for eight weeks to allow the parties to negotiate over the pre-trial issues.
A hearing date is due to be set on November 11.
Jones was arrested in November after an eight-month police investigation into a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.
At his first court appearance in December, he declared the allegations are "all either baseless or they distort the truth".
The charges followed a hugely influential broadcasting career launched in 1985.
Jones became a feared interviewer who excelled at questioning leaders while dividing audiences with his outspoken views.
He worked with Sydney radio station 2UE before joining rival 2GB, where he was a long-time ratings juggernaut until 2020.
Alongside failed tilts at politics, he also coached the Australian national men's rugby union team through some historic achievements between 1984 and 1988.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
