The prosecution has concluded its case in the trial of former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Eleanor on historical sex offences. Judge Paul Ramsey told the jury at Newry Crown Court that a landmark in the trial had been reached after barrister Rosemary Walsh KC confirmed all prosecution evidence had been presented.
Sir Jeffrey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including one count of rape and allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency, spanning 1985 to 2008 involving two alleged victims. His wife Eleanor, 60, denies several charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending and is facing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds.
During the proceedings, the jury heard police interviews with the Donaldsons following their arrest in March 2024. In her first interview, Eleanor Donaldson denied guilt and described an incident where she found her husband alone with Complainant B, a teenager at the time. She recalled saying, “What are you doing?” and said her husband dismissed it as “nothing” and “just talking.”
She told police she was “uncomfortable” and had repeatedly asked her husband about the incident but was met with “a blank wall.” She said she never witnessed any other inappropriate behaviour and described the rape allegation as “totally outside my knowledge of what I would expect from him.”
The judge indicated that legal applications would be heard on Wednesday. The trial continues.
