The evidence that led to the conviction of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been detailed following his guilty verdict on 18 sex offences. The jury found him guilty in June, and at a pre-sentence hearing in September, his two victims faced him in court for the first time.
Victim testimonies
Both women, known as Complainants A and B to protect their identities, gave evidence during the month-long trial earlier in the year. They used special court measures so they did not have to testify in front of the former politician. Their testimonies led to Donaldson being found guilty of a string of historical sex offences.
Ten of the offences related to Complainant B, the older of the two women, including one count of rape and nine of indecent assault, dating from 1985 to 1991. He was convicted of four charges of indecent assault and four of gross indecency relating to Complainant A, dating from 1999 to 2008.
Key evidence in court
During the trial, prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh KC told the jury the ex-MP had subjected the two women to “difficult and traumatic incidents” when they were children. Complainant A, the first witness, said she had first been abused when of primary school age. She described an incident where Donaldson used a light, possibly a torch, to look at her “private parts”, and another where he put his tongue in her mouth, which was “laughed off” by both Donaldson and his wife Eleanor.
The trial heard about a letter Donaldson wrote to A in June 2020, in which he expressed “regret” for “all the hurt, pain and distress I have caused”. Complainant B told the jury she remembered two incidents “vividly”, including one where Donaldson raped her when she was of primary school age, and another where he touched her breasts when she was of secondary school age. Referring to the rape, she stated: “The actions that night I will never forget, what happened that night will live with me forever.”
Witness accounts
The jury also heard from the husband of Complainant A, who became emotional as he told the court about the moment his wife informed him about the abuse. He said: “She was scared, she had never told anyone this, I recognised this was massive for her.” A Presbyterian minister and his wife, who provided “pastoral support” to Complainant A, also gave evidence. The minister said Donaldson sent him a message in 2023 asking for a meeting, but the man responded that it would be “inappropriate”. Donaldson then sent a reply saying: “I just want to find a way to say how sorry I am and repent before them as I have before the Lord.”
Evidence was also given about a meeting between Complainant B and Donaldson at the Christian Family Centre in Armoy in the 1990s. Claire Selfridge, daughter of the centre's founders David and Linda Hoy, said B told her “she had been abused”. Pastor Stephen Matthews, in a police interview, said B had told him about abuse but asked him not to go to police, saying: “She said she can't because it would destroy their political reputation, I don't want that.” Mr Matthews said it “became obvious” who the abuser was, adding: “There was only one person, that was Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.” David Hoy arranged a meeting between Donaldson and Complainant B, during which Donaldson said: “I know what this is about, he said I am sorry and can you please forgive me.”
Conviction and sentencing
Donaldson spent two days in the witness box, repeatedly denying the abuse. In her closing speech, Ms Walsh said there was “no reason” why the two women would lie, adding: “What the evidence shows when it is pieced together is that they are telling the truth about what happened to them.” The jury accepted the victims' account and unanimously found him guilty on all 18 charges. Judge Paul Ramsey ordered he be sent to Maghaberry Prison, where he has been since June awaiting sentencing.
At the pre-sentence hearing, Ms Walsh referred to victim impact statements, saying the abuse B suffered had affected “every day of every relationship she has had since then”, and that A feels her “childhood was stolen from her”. Donaldson's barrister Kieran Vaughan KC acknowledged the court will impose a lengthy custodial sentence, but said the former politician was of “previous good character” with no offending in the past 18 years. He added: “These convictions obliterate all those achievements he has made in his life.” Donaldson's solicitor John McBurney has confirmed papers have been lodged for an appeal.
