Jeffrey Donaldson to be sentenced at Newry Crown Court for sex offences

Mixed · 2Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson is due to be sentenced at Newry Crown Court for historical sex offences against two women when they were children. 1 2 Mixed · 2Donaldson, 63, was convicted in June of 18 offences, including one count of rape; the jury found him guilty of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency, despite his denial. The offences were committed between 1985 and 2008. 1 2 Mixed · 2The former Lagan Valley MP has been held in Maghaberry Prison in Co Antrim since the end of the trial, and Judge Ramsey has previously told him he faces a "lengthy sentence". 1 2

Mixed · 2At the trial, Complainant A gave evidence of inappropriate touching and kissing and an incident in which he used a light to examine her genitals. Complainant B said she was raped as a child of primary school age and later sexually assaulted. 1 2 Mixed · 2At a pre-sentence hearing last month, extracts from the two women's victim impact statements were read. Donaldson's barrister, Kieran Vaughan, described him as a man of "previous good character" who "did achieve significant things", but said the convictions "obliterate all those achievements". 1 2 Mixed · 2Since the conviction Donaldson has been stripped of his knighthood and removed from the Privy Council, and his solicitor has confirmed that papers have been lodged for an appeal. 1 2

Mixed · 2His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, was found after a trial of the facts, granted on mental health grounds, to have aided and abetted his crimes. She cannot be jailed but could receive a treatment order or an absolute discharge, which the judge will decide at a later date; she has lodged an appeal against the outcome of that trial. 1 2