There were 24 charges initially, now 26. Eight, now nine, men and counting.

I have no intention of writing fifty thousand words on Alan Jones, as I did on George Pell, whom I loved and knew him to be innocent.

I don’t especially like Alan Jones – I have met him only once, and very briefly – and am utterly agnostic on Jones’ possible guilt.

But the similarities between the two cases are stark, to say the least:

• Hugely unpopular figures, indeed hate figures, for the progressive Left;
• Selective homophobia targeted only at Right-of-centre homosexuals;
• High profile politicised police forces;
• The Leftist media leading police to their inquiry;
• Illegal, prejudicial and strategic use of “victims”;
• The usefulness in both cases of governments having re-defined “sex abuse” to mean just about anything in the way of unwanted sexual contact, viz. going the grope (many of the complaints against Pell were of this kind);
• Highly advertised public appeals for more “victims” to come forward;
• The multiple-victim strategy to paint the defendant as a serial offender. The ABC was still at it with Pell even after the High Court exonerated him;
• The attempted besmirching by association of Jones’ supporters. Think here of Howard and Abbott being repeatedly rebuked for openly supporting Pell.

Oh, and a strike force!

There must be a strike force. With an exotic name. This one is Bonnefin.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said detectives had been “working tirelessly” on the investigation. But why, and why now?

Tirelessly? Of course they have! Probably haven’t slept since last December.

It’s a pity such tireless efforts aren’t replicated in other cases to address, say, the relentless attacks by the terrorist-adjacent protesters on Australian Jews.

Question: What percentage of burglaries get solved (even investigated) in the Rum Corps State?

Answer: A mere five per cent.

Why it was the Child Abuse Squad doing the highly publicised arrest is a mystery, given the ages of the Jones complainants at the time of the alleged offences.

The youngest alleged object of his alleged attentions is said to have been 17 at the time, so none of them were children under any definition worthy of the word.

The only things missing from the Jones case are a book and Four Corners hit job starring Louise Milligan and the cavalcade of errors that are the hallmark of her reporting.

Oops, I forgot, the book is already out there. It is called Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones, and was written by Chris Masters in 2006.

The Guardian, unsurprisingly, is enraptured: “Chris Masters, the author of bestselling biography Jonestown, says the broadcaster’s ‘evangelical following’ and bully pulpit allowed him to manipulate power and have ‘princes and premiers bowing before him’.

Oh, and there was a Four Corners show on Jones too, though a long time ago, in 2001.

YARDSTICK

Its take back then: “If his ratings and pay slips are a yardstick, Alan Jones is probably Australia’s most successful broadcaster ever. There is no doubt he is the most powerful.

“He’s feared by politicians and adored by Struggle Street. Sydney is his pond but his influence ripples far beyond.

“He swings State and federal elections; political leaders queue to win his blessing for new appointments or policy initiatives. Four Corners presents an unauthorised profile of Alan Jones.”

Time for a Four Corners sequel, too, perhaps.

For, take it as given that the ABC-Left will be riding this wave to the beach, and utilising every trick they can to see a conviction.

As a man with a target on his back, Jones is up there with Pell.

Jones, though, still has friends.

Peta Credlin has declared the charges against her long-time friend as “entirely out of character with the man I’ve known”.

From John Howard and James Packer came “cautiously worded support” this week, although Gina Rinehart has memory-holed her friend, at least online.

Russell Crowe has been a supporter in the past: “We don’t always agree with our politics, but the thing that I know about you, Mr Jones, is the size of your heart.”

The “Louise Milligan” in the Jones case is one Kate McClymont, of The Sydney Morning Herald.

“McClymont, whose work sparked the police investigation,” the newspaper crowed, “revealed in our mastheads last year that the controversial broadcaster allegedly indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched multiple young men.”

Jones responded to the journalist’s claims via his lawyers last December: “Our client denies ever having indecently assaulted the persons referred to in your letter, and your suggestion that he has is scandalous, grossly offensive and seriously defamatory of him.”