She said Jones had committed a serious offence
Moderator
Alan Jones fined, on good behaviour bond
Friday Apr 20 14:28 AEST
Radio broadcaster Alan Jones has been handed a nine-month good
behaviour
bond and a $1,000 fine for naming a juvenile witness in a murder
trial.
Jones was sentenced in Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Friday
after
being found guilty last month.
The boy was allegedly aged 14 when he witnessed a fatal attack in
2004.
After he gave evidence at the trial of the alleged murderer in July
2005,
his name was reported in The Daily Telegraph and on Jones's morning
radio
show on Sydney radio station 2GB, without his consent.
Harbour Radio, which operates 2GB, was fined $3,000 and Nationwide
News,
which publishes The Daily Telegraph, was fined $4,000.
Jones had read on air on his morning show an article from the Daily
Telegraph in which the boy's name was published.
Prosecutor Peter Miller told Deputy Chief Magistrate Helen Syme Jones
had
editorialised the article and added his own comment, which could have
had a
negative consequence for the boy.
Counsel for Jones, Nancy Mikhaiel, said the broadcaster was contrite
and
admitted his mistake but did not deliberately flout the law.
Jones said he was disappointed about the decision, and his legal team
would
now consider what options were available to them.
"I accept the judgment of the court, as I always will, but the legal
people
advising me will have to go through the details of what was said and
determine at some point whether any other course of action is
available to
us," Mr Jones said outside the Downing Centre Local Court.
He said he was mindful of the fact he could have received the maximum
sentence of 12 months in prison.
"I didn't fear one way or the other, I came here waiting for the court
to
make its decision and I was prepared to live with that decision,"
Jones
said.
In passing sentence, Deputy Chief Magistrate Helen Syme noted that
Jones and
Harbour Radio had not expressed any contrition or made any apologies
to the
teenager until they had been found guilty last month.
She said Jones had committed a serious offence.
©AAP 2007