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Ex-athlete tells court his relationship with Jones had a ‘secret part’

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Cite

Sibthorpe, C., & Whitbourn, M. (2026, September 18). Ex-athlete tells court his relationship with Jones had a ‘secret part’. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/ex-athlete-tells-court-his-relationship-with-jones-had-a-secret-part-20260918-p60yjd.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-09-18 · by Clare Sibthorpe, Michaela Whitbourn
Content note This article describes sexual violence.

Quick Summary

A former athlete testified in Alan Jones' indecent assault and sexual touching trial at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney, alleging that Jones kissed him non-consensually twice: once near the corner of his mouth at an event about a decade ago, and another time when visiting Jones’ apartment. The complainant referred to their relationship as having “a secret part” he didn’t disclose to others while maintaining some form of professional connection with Jones afterward. Jones denies all charges and faces 22 counts related to six complainants; the trial has heard from three so far, with a fourth set to testify next week.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Sydney, a prominent former athlete, referred to as Complainant M, testified at Alan Jones' trial where Jones faces 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching related to six complainants. The athlete alleged that Jones kissed him without consent on two occasions: once at an event in 2015 and another during a visit to Jones' Circular Quay apartment around 2020. Despite the alleged incidents, Complainant M continued to text Jones friendly messages due to Jones' influence and generosity, even wishing him a happy Christmas after one incident. Under cross-examination by Jones’ defense lawyer Gabrielle Bashir, SC, Complainant M insisted he knows “the kiss happened” because it is seared in his memory. The trial has also heard testimony from Complainant M’s friend who noted a "sharp shift" in the athlete's relationship with Jones around the time of these alleged assaults, indicating growing discomfort and tension.

Written for “Alan Jones Trial Allegations” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Alan Jones Trial Allegations
Crime & Law · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 6 of 44 claims Outlet record 61/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 6 of 29 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 40 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different days of testimony by the same athlete in the ongoing trial, but do not refer to the same specific incident or moment.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes testimony given by a complainant during Alan Jones' indecent assault and sexual touching trial, while Article B reports on one of the accusers having their allegation withdrawn from the same ongoing trial.”
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different testimonies from distinct alleged victims at the same trial, not the same specific incident.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different complainants and incidents involving Alan Jones, indicating separate events.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
27
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 27 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5759 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Clare Sibthorpe
13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 ‘It will be my word against him and he’s a powerful man.
🔮 Newlinds said the two residents of the house would be extremely distressed by “the loss of their house ... their lifetime of belongings, and perhaps most significantly, the cats”.
🔮 According to a police fact sheet tendered to the Supreme Court as Ballesta was granted strict bail last week, NSW Police’s child abuse squad was alerted in May to a child abuse file that was uploaded to the cloud by an email address known to them.
🔮 In another exchange, Bashir put to him that he intended to obtain as much financial assistance from Jones as he possibly could.
🔮 The court heard Jones messaged “A” that it was “very, very important” to thank his contacts for their “extraordinary generosity” and that he wouldn’t want them to think their help was being taken for granted.
🔮 - Tenants who rely on credit cards to pay their rent could soon be forced into arrears, advocates warn, after a major rental payment platform blocked the method of payment in response to a new ban on card surcharge fees.
🔮 I survived something that broke parts of me I may never fully get back …
🔮 Allan would cook for the near-daily prominent guests, serving lunches that became dinners and weekend feasts when Jones was off-air.
🔮 What could I do?’ ” the woman said, adding she told him “that’s awful”.
🔮 I thought that could potentially ruin the night.
Also by Clare Sibthorpe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 13 articles by Clare Sibthorpe →
Michaela Whitbourn
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Freund had lodged a complaint against Allen with the watchdog in May this year alleging he bullied her over an 18-month period, according to documents filed by her lawyers in court.
🔮 Beau Lamarre-Condon texted a friend a day before he allegedly murdered Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies suggesting that he may not “get to talk to you again”, a court has heard.
🔮 “I then instructed my solicitors to make contact with the DPP and officer in charge to inform them that I’m willing to assist with a statement regarding Elizabeth’s involvement in the matter.
🔮 Lamarre-Condon said the second person “wasn’t even meant to be shot” but he couldn’t leave any witnesses, the man said.
🔮 I was running a tad late or I would have loved to chat for longer.
🔮 “My kids needed stuff for school and I couldn’t afford it.”
🔮 She said they subsequently spoke on the phone and he “asked me if I could do him a favour”.
🔮 He said that “the original shot would have been discharged at a very similar distance” of between five and ten centimetres from the door.
🔮 Moon said there was one officer who had the same type of cartridge, meaning it was “possibly a cartridge that may have been distributed to NSW Police at some time”.
🔮 The Crown has foreshadowed that the court will hear evidence that Lamarre-Condon asked the friend who accompanied him on the first shopping trip whether he would fit inside the surfboard bag.
Also by Michaela Whitbourn
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by Michaela Whitbourn →

Topics

Sydney

Subjects

Jones PERSON · 10× Wright PERSON · 4× Sydney GPE · 3× Alan PERSON · 1× Alan Jones PERSON · 1× Georgina Wright PERSON · 1× the Men’s Referral Service ORG · 1× the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service ORG · 1×

Narrative

“M” alleges the second kiss occurred years later when he visited the radio host’s Circular Quay apartment, and that Jones kissed him repeatedly on the cheek, moving towards his mouth, and pressed his genitals against the complainant’s leg.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 Wright asked how he would define his relationship with Jones following the event.
2026-09-18 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Ex-athlete tells court his relationship with Jones had a ‘secret part’ · assertive framing

Claims (27 extracted, 1 hedged)

A former athlete who has alleged Alan Jones kissed him non-consensually has told a court that his relationship with the then-broadcaster had “a secret part I wasn’t disclosing to anyone”. asserted
I → allege → anyone
Complainant “M” returned to the witness box for a fourth day in Jones’ indecent assault and sexual touching trial at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. asserted
M → return → Sydney
He has accused Jones of kissing him non-consensually on two occasions, including on the corner of his mouth at an event in Sydney about a decade ago. asserted
He → accuse → Sydney
“M” alleges the second kiss occurred years later when he visited the radio host’s Circular Quay apartment, and that Jones kissed him repeatedly on the cheek, moving towards his mouth, and pressed his genitals against the complainant’s leg. asserted
Jones → allege → leg
Jones denies the alleged physical acts occurred. asserted
acts → deny → ?
He has pleaded not guilty to two charges relating to “M” and 20 more alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences relating to five other complainants. asserted
He → plead → complainants
During re-examination on Friday, prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC, took “M” to his evidence given during cross-examination, in which he was asked about his continuing friendship with Jones following the alleged kiss at the function. asserted
he → take → function
He had said: “Yes, the friendship had continued, or the relationship we had, however you define it, continued.” asserted
you → say → it
Wright asked how he would define his relationship with Jones following the event. asserted
he → ask → event
“M” said he struggled with the word “friendship”. asserted
he → say → word
“Colleague is not the appropriate word; I don’t know how to define it,” he said, adding he was “managing” the relationship. asserted
he → know → relationship
“We had a professional relationship. asserted
We → have → relationship
[There was] a private part to that relationship, but then for me there was this other part which was this secret part I wasn’t disclosing to anyone.” asserted
I → be → anyone
During cross-examination, “M” said he remembered telling police in his statement that Jones kissed him on the first occasion on his “face, close to the corner of my mouth” as opposed to on his lips. asserted
Jones → say → lips
He said that he believed he “pointed to where it was”. asserted
it → say → ?
On Friday, Wright asked if part of what he told police on one occasion was that Jones kissed him on the lips at the event. asserted
Jones → ask → event
“Yes,” “M” responded. asserted
M → respond → ?
Wright took him to the suggestion raised in cross-examination that he had never used the word “frozen” in his police statements about the alleged function kiss. asserted
he → take → kiss
He had told the court earlier this week that he believed he froze and then went back to his table. asserted
he → tell → table
Wright asked if part of what he told police was, “when Alan did this, I felt uncomfortable because of where he kissed me ... asserted
he → ask → me
And I did not want him to do that and it made me extraordinarily uncomfortable”. asserted
me → want → that
The man replied that he did. asserted
he → reply → ?
Later on Friday, a man who attended the event in Sydney where “M” alleges Jones kissed him non-consensually said he could not recall whether the complainant was at the event. uncertain
complainant → attend → event
He said “M” “didn’t always attend the events”. asserted
M → say → events
Jones’ trial has now heard from three of the six complainants in the case. asserted
trial → hear → case
Next week, a fourth complainant, dubbed “H”, is expected to give evidence. asserted
complainant → dub → evidence
Be the first to know when major news happens. asserted
news → know → ?
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