Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson found guilty of rape and indecent assault
A jury found he abused two women as children, and the judge said a lengthy prison sentence was inevitable.
- On Monday, a Newry Crown Court jury convicted former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson of 18 historical sexual offences, including rape and indecent assault, involving two girls between 1985 and 2008.
- Donaldson, 63, previously served as Northern Ireland's longest-serving lawmaker and led the DUP until his March 2024 arrest; he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2016 before vacating his Parliament seat.
- During the trial, Donaldson testified he was "crystal clear" he did not rape the complainant, yet a 2020 letter showed he wrote he regretted the "hurt, pain and distress" he caused.
- A separate trial of the facts found that Eleanor, Donaldson's wife, aided and abetted the crimes, though the court ruled her unfit to stand trial last month due to mental health issues.
- Remanded in custody following Monday's verdict, the former lawmaker will be sentenced on September 25, concluding a career defined by his role as a leading advocate for maintaining historic ties with the United Kingdom.
64 Articles
64 Articles
In Northern Ireland, the former chairman of the pro-British party DUP, Donaldson, has been convicted of sexual abuse by minors.
Jyllands-Posten
Kristeligt DagbladJeffrey Donaldson, who he Tidligere partideer i Northern Ireland, he mandag kendt skyldig i en række seksuelle overgreb - herunder ét tilfælde af voldtægt - begået mod to piger over en længere årrække. Det...
Former Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson was found guilty of 18 child sex offences, including rape, on Monday. His wife Eleanor was found guilty of aiding and abetting her husband's crimes but will not face charges due to her mental health. Donaldson played a key role in the negotiations following the UK's referendum on leaving the European Union.
A court Monday declared Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of the main pro-United Kingdom party of Northern Ireland, guilty of 18 sexual offences, including rape. The jury took 10 hours to reach a verdict after Donaldson, 63, pleaded not guilty to all charges after four weeks of filing evidence in a Newry court in southern Belfast. The trial focused on allegations of two women claiming that Donaldson sexually abused them as girls for more than two…
The former leader of the pro-British DUP party in Northern Ireland, Jeffrey Donaldson (63), has been found guilty of eighteen sexual offences, including rape.
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