Ex-DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson jailed for 15 years for child sex offences
The former leader of Northern Ireland's largest unionist party was sentenced on Thursday for offences against two girls committed between 1985 and 2008; he denies the charges and is seeking to appeal.
At a glance
- Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, 63, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sex offences.
- He was convicted of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency against two girls between 1985 and 2008.
- Judge Paul Ramsey said Donaldson never apologised to victims; Donaldson denies the charges and is seeking to appeal.
Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday for child sex offences committed against two girls between 1985 and 2008.
Donaldson, 63, stared straight ahead as Judge Paul Ramsey handed down the sentence. The judge described the case as "disturbing and disquieting" and called the politician's fall "a catastrophic descent into disgrace". He assessed Donaldson as having a medium chance of reoffending.
The former DUP leader has been in prison awaiting sentence since June. He was convicted of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency. He denied all the charges and is seeking to appeal against his convictions.
What the victims said
Prosecutor Rosemary Walsh told a pre-sentencing hearing last month that one of the victims described the abuse as "the worst moment of her life". The other said her childhood had been stolen and that she had carried feelings of "shame" ever since. Neither victim can be identified for legal reasons, and both gave evidence during the trial.
Judge Ramsey said Donaldson had doubled down on his denials and had not offered one word of an apology or expressed shame.
Donaldson will likely spend seven-and-a-half years in prison, the Lady Chief Justice's Office of Northern Ireland said, because he qualifies for automatic remission of his sentence. The offences were committed before a change in the law that allowed a judge to choose what portion of a sentence is spent in custody.
Political career
Donaldson was one of Northern Ireland's best-known politicians and its longest-serving lawmaker in the British Parliament when he was arrested and charged in March 2024. He immediately resigned as DUP leader after being charged with what he called "allegations of an historic nature".
He became DUP leader in 2021. The party was founded by Protestant cleric Ian Paisley at the height of three decades of sectarian bloodshed that ended after a 1998 peace deal.
Two months before his arrest, Donaldson was central to the negotiation of a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK government. It ended the DUP's two-year boycott of the devolved power-sharing assembly at Stormont and had been expected to lead his party into the next UK general election.
Donaldson was knighted in 2016 for his political services and asked for his knighthood to be renounced two days after his conviction.
The jury also found that Donaldson's wife, Eleanor, aided and abetted her husband. She denied the charges. The court ruled her unfit to stand trial last month due to mental health issues, meaning she could not face criminal conviction.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- How long will Jeffrey Donaldson spend in prison?
- He was sentenced to 15 years, but will likely serve seven-and-a-half years because he qualifies for automatic remission of his sentence, the Lady Chief Justice's Office of Northern Ireland said.
- What was Jeffrey Donaldson convicted of?
- One count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency against two girls between 1985 and 2008. He denied all the charges and is seeking to appeal.
- What happened to Donaldson's wife, Eleanor?
- The jury found she aided and abetted her husband. She denied the charges, and the court ruled her unfit to stand trial last month due to mental health issues.
