Alan Jones trial hears of 'sharp shift' in athlete's relationship with him

A friend of prominent athlete 'Complainant M' told police he noticed a "sharp shift" in the athlete's relationship with broadcaster Alan Jones around the time of an alleged assault, a court has heard.The former 2GB host pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of indecent assault and sexual touching relating to six men, including one count of each charge in relation to the current complainant.Mr Jones's criminal trial has heard four days of evidence from Complainant M and related witnesses, with police statements from two friends read into the record on Friday afternoon.One friend, who said he had known the complainant for almost 30 years, told police he knew the athlete had a friendship with Mr Jones, and believed he was a "trusted mentor in [M's] life".But he said in about 2019 or 2020, he noticed his friend develop a "hostility" towards Mr Jones."I remember [Complainant M] telling me, 'something happened between me and Alan'," the statement said."[Complainant M] told me that he wasn't comfortable with what was happening and Alan had crossed a boundary."I remember telling [him] he should have flogged Alan."Complainant M has alleged Mr Jones kissed him on the corner of his mouth at a public event in 2015, and then kissed him again without his consent during a visit to the broadcaster's Circular Quay apartment in about 2020.In the second alleged assault, Complainant M described pushing Mr Jones away after feeling the defendant's genitalia touch his leg.The same friend told police around that time, the athlete's body language changed when he received text messages from the broadcaster."In the years that I have known [Complainant M], he used to speak about Alan Jones affectionately, but there was a point that there was a sharp shift in the relationship between the two," the statement said."If Alan Jones was brought up in a conversation you could visibly see [Complainant M's] body language change."Second friend's police statement readAnother friend whose statement was read aloud to the court told police Complainant M confided in her in 2023, after stories about Mr Jones were published in the Sydney Morning Herald.She said she read the stories and asked Complainant M about it."Complainant M said … 'Didn't I tell you about the time he kissed me?'" the statement read."He said, 'I literally had to push him off me …'."Mr Jones outside of court on Friday. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)Earlier this week, Complainant M told the court the 2023 Sydney Morning Herald article was the catalyst for telling another friend.The athlete said he spoke to the man about the story, and said that "something similar has happened to me"."I told him there had been a couple of occasions that Mr Jones had kissed me," he said.'I was managing a relationship'Complainant M's evidence concluded on Friday morning after more than three days in the witness box.Asked by the Crown to define his relationship with Mr Jones, the athlete said he was "managing" his relationship with the broadcaster."I struggle with the word 'friendship'," he told the court."I don't know how to define it."We had a professional relationship, a private part to that relationship."But for me there was this other part, this secret part I wasn't disclosing to anyone."My partner didn't know about it. I was managing a relationship."The trial is due to hear from more witnesses who were at the 2015 event where the first of two alleged kisses occurred, before it moves to the evidence of the next complainant.