Adelaide comedian reveals identity following Tom Ballard sexual misconduct claim

Former Assistant Editor

Adelaide Comedian JooYung Roberts has revealed himself as the man who accused former triple j presenter and ABC’s Tonightly host Tom Ballard of sexual misconduct last week.

Ballard posted a statement on his website on Saturday June 9, explaining that he had been made aware of a claim of “sexual assault” made against him.

“I completely deny in the strongest terms possible,” he said. “It fundamentally goes against who I am as a person and everything I believe in.”

Ballard also explained that he was not aware that Roberts did not consider the experience consensual until recently.

Taking to Twitter yesterday Roberts wrote, “I am Tom Ballard’s accuser. I understand it can be difficult to know what to make of allegations when they come from an anonymous source, so here is a link to the Facebook post I made last Saturday.

“Please RT. I am not afraid to be identified. #MeToo”

In that Facebook post, Roberts detailed that four years to the day he had the experience with Ballard in a hotel room, and explained that he had gone to the police but they weren’t able to take action.

He also spoke out against defamation law in Australia which he believes makes it difficult for victims of sexual misconduct to seek justice.

Roberts today told ABC News that the success of the #MeToo movement had given him the courage to make the allegations public through the media.

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Mark
13 Jun 2018 - 10:22 am

In a trial by social media, I’ve gotta say I stand with Tom Ballard on this one. There’s no need for this to play out in the media given the police said there was no crime committed. Trying to conflate this experience with the genuine cases of the #MeToo movement is plain wrong, and leaves me feeling sorry for Tom Ballard.

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