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A warning this next story contains references to alleged indecent assault. A prominent athlete has told a court he sent Alan Jones messages wishing him the best for the holidays, because he was being polite after the veteran broadcaster allegedly kissed him without consent. Mr Jones has pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching.

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Transcript
00:01Defence Barrister Gabrielle Beshear SC, who is acting on behalf of Mr Jones,
00:07it was her opportunity to try and poke some holes and to discredit this witness
00:12who is alleging that Alan Jones had kissed him on two separate occasions without consent,
00:18once in 2015 and another occasion in 2020.
00:22Now these text messages were initially raised by the Crown Prosecutor.
00:25It shows that after that 2020 incident where the complainant alleges
00:31that Alan Jones kissed him on the mouth without consent
00:33and also pushed his genitalia up against his leg at Alan Jones' Circular Quay apartment,
00:38several months later he actually reached out to Alan Jones
00:43to wish him the best for the holiday period.
00:45It shows he tried to call Alan Jones and Mr Jones didn't pick up the phone
00:50and then instead he sent a text message later on wishing him the best for Christmas
00:55and the new year.
00:56He was essentially asked by the prosecutor, which is their own witness,
00:59why did you send that message?
01:01He says he was trying to be polite to someone who had been generous to him
01:04for a number of years.
01:06He also provided some more context about what he said yesterday
01:08in terms of their challenges within their relationship,
01:11that Mr Jones was a very prominent and powerful person
01:14who had a reputation in the media of being able to destroy people if he wanted to.
01:19When he started to face the cross-examination today,
01:22it did get a bit more heated though.
01:23He was essentially challenged about some of the statements he gave police
01:27and what he had given in his evidence-in-chief in court
01:32and the inconsistencies there.
01:34We heard about that 2015 event where he alleges he was kissed on the mouth
01:38by Alan Jones at a public event.
01:41Now, we heard today that he initially told police that it was kissed close to the mouth
01:46and then during his evidence-in-chief he said that he was kissed on the lip,
01:50he was kissed on the corner of his mouth.
01:53Now, he was challenged to why there was an inconsistency there.
01:56He said it was the best of his recollection at the time
01:58and that he wasn't actually contacted by police initially.
02:01They came to him and initially took that statement.
02:03He wasn't aware that he was becoming a witness at that time.
02:05But they were also put to him that this kiss never actually happened.
02:10They said that Alan Jones never kissed you at this 2015 event.
02:14Then the complainant replied saying, Alan Jones kissed me.
02:18They also questioned him about him being a special person
02:21and that's maybe why Alan Jones was very complimentary of him,
02:24especially on on-air comments.
02:25He agreed.
02:26He essentially said when they asked him if he was an extraordinary person
02:30and a champion, he essentially said thank you
02:33and then they asked if he thought he was a special person.
02:36He says he still believes he's a special person today.
02:39So the defence trying to provide some context there
02:42about maybe some of the complimentary descriptions
02:45he would give this person,
02:46which is something that the complainant said
02:49made him feel uncomfortable at the time.
02:50He is still facing cross-examination.
02:52There's no hearings taking place tomorrow,
02:54so there won't be any evidence,
02:55but he'll return to the witness box on Thursday, Joe.
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