Jeffrey Donaldson on trial for 18 sex abuse charges, denies rape
Jeffrey Donaldson denied 18 sex abuse charges as one complainant told court she warned his wife about abuse and got no response.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson went on trial at Newry Crown Court facing 18 sex abuse charges, including one count of rape, as prosecutors said the alleged offending spanned 1985 to 2008 and involved two complainants. The former DUP leader denies all the charges, and the case has drawn sharp attention because it places claims of long-ignored abuse against one of Northern Ireland’s most prominent unionist politicians.
Donaldson, 63, was arrested with his wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, on 28 March 2024 while he was still the MP for Lagan Valley and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. He later stepped down as DUP leader with immediate effect after being charged, and the party suspended him from membership. Before the arrest, he had played a central role in the Windsor Framework negotiations, and the DUP returned to Stormont in January 2024 after securing changes to the deal.
The prosecution says Complainant A and Complainant B came forward to police in March 2024 and described abuse when they were children. One complainant told the court she informed Lady Eleanor Donaldson about a second alleged incident, including a bright light or torch being used to examine her private parts. She said Lady Donaldson asked for corroborating detail, but nothing further was done. The same complainant also said Lady Donaldson witnessed another alleged incident and did not intervene.
Lady Eleanor Donaldson, of Dublinhill Road in Dromore, County Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting the alleged offending, but she has been ruled unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds. Her case will proceed as a trial of the facts, meaning the court will examine what happened without reaching a criminal conviction against her.
The evidence now under scrutiny is about more than one household. It goes to whether abuse allegations were ignored inside a family tied to political power, and whether a public figure’s standing helped delay accountability for years. The trial was expected to last five weeks, with the court hearing claims that two children disclosed alleged abuse only decades later, after the Donaldsons had become synonymous with the DUP’s leadership and Northern Ireland unionism.
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