Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has lodged an appeal against his convictions for 18 child sex offences, including one count of rape, relating to the abuse of two women when they were children. The 63-year-old was convicted at Newry Crown Court last month for crimes committed between 1985 and 2008.
Appeal lodged with Court of Appeal
On Friday afternoon, Donaldson's solicitor John McBurney confirmed that appeal papers had been filed. “I can confirm, having lodged this afternoon on behalf of Jeffrey Donaldson appeal papers with the relevant office for the court of appeal,” he said. The appeal, if granted, is expected to be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast in the autumn, and is understood to aim at having the convictions set aside.
Conviction and sentencing
Donaldson, who denied the offences, was found guilty of 18 sex offences including rape. His wife Eleanor Donaldson, 60, was found to have aided and abetted his crimes following a trial of the facts, which was granted on mental health grounds. Trial judge Paul Ramsey stated that a custodial sentence was inevitable and would be “lengthy”. Donaldson is currently held at Maghaberry Prison in his former parliamentary constituency of Lagan Valley awaiting sentencing.
Political fallout and reviews
Donaldson’s conviction sent shockwaves across Northern Ireland politics. His former party, the DUP, is undertaking a “focused, independent review” led by Jim Gamble, a former senior police officer and current head of the INEQE Safeguarding Group, to establish what was known within the party about Donaldson’s conduct. The Northern Ireland Assembly has also begun a review into alleged abuse or inappropriate behaviour associated with Donaldson in Stormont during his time as an MLA from 2003 to 2010. He was also the MP for Lagan Valley from 1997 to 2024. Earlier this month, Donaldson was removed from the Privy Council after requesting his name be removed from the list of members of the body of senior advisers to the King.
