A former radio station staffer has denied trying to titillate Alan Jones in an explicit text message about his genitals, telling the court he was trying to “curry favour” with the longtime shock jock.

He is one of six men who allege Jones kissed, groped or subjected them to sexual misconduct between 2003 and 2020 across Sydney and the NSW Southern Highlands.

The 85-year-old former ruler of the airwaves has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching without consent, eight of which relate to the former radio station staffer.

The man, who was 18 years old when he met Jones, claims Jones repeatedly kissed him without consent in a lift at his home and workplace, and groped him in a car and at an event.

He was cross-examined on Tuesday about texts he sent to the veteran broadcaster after the alleged indecent assaults, some of which expressed love for Jones and sent kisses.

The former radio station staffer had previously insisted he had only replied to Jones’s intimate messages.

But when pressed, he accepted that he had sparked some of the exchanges.

In one text, he told the former Wallabies coach he was a bachelor again and referenced his genitals with a nickname they both used.

“Do you accept this is regular banter?” Jones’s lawyer Gabrielle Bashir SC asked.

“Banter is a loose word,” the former radio station staffer replied.

“I sent that because I knew he would like it.”

He denied that the message was inconsistent with his allegations of being repeatedly indecently assaulted by Jones.

When asked if he had sent the message to titillate the former radio host, the younger man said he “wouldn’t use that word”.

“I certainly felt like it was a way of currying favour with him,” he told the court.

The former radio station staffer previously told the court he felt pressured to continue to engage with Jones because he was “the most powerful person in Australia” at the time.

He said he was intimidated by Jones and scared of what he might do if he didn’t get the responses he sought.

The former radio station staffer accepted that he had been untruthful in messages with Jones but insisted it was how he felt he needed to talk to Jones at the time.

“You were prepared to lie to Alan Jones, weren’t you?” Bashir asked him.

“If it kept him on side, yes, I spoke to him in a way that was untrue,” he replied.

He testified on Monday to reporting the abuse to fellow 2GB host Ray Hadley, only to swear Jones’s on-air rival to secrecy.

Hadley put the staffer in touch with journalist Peter FitzSimons, who was researching similar allegations about Jones, the court was told.

Jones’s barrister has accused the former staffer of rewriting history.

Her client has denied each allegation against him, which are said to have occurred during the latter part of his 35-year broadcasting career, when he dominated Sydney’s airwaves.

He also broadcast to a national audience for years as a regular commentator on Nine’s Today show and a host of a political discussion show on Sky News.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

-AAP