Jeffrey Donaldson jailed for 15 years for rape

Former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson was jailed on Thursday for 15 years after being convicted of 18 historical sex offences, including rape.

A jury in Newry, south of Belfast, found Donaldson guilty on all charges in June. The trial focused on two women who were sexually abused as children over a period spanning more than two decades.

Donaldson was convicted of one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency with or towards a child and 13 counts of indecent assault. The offences related to incidents between 1985 and 2008.

Sentencing him, Judge Paul Ramsey said Donaldson had shown no “regret, apology or shame”.

Donaldson led the DUP, Northern Ireland’s main pro-UK party, from December 2019 until he resigned in March 2024, when he was charged by police. He was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.

His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was found guilty on five charges of aiding and abetting his offences between 1985 and 2006. She faced a “trial of the facts”, not a criminal trial, after a judge ruled her unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds.