Jeffrey Donaldson Convicted on 18 Child Sex Abuse Counts, Including 1 Rape
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 22
Jeffrey Donaldson Convicted on 18 Child Sex Abuse Counts, Including 1 Rape
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 22
Summary
Newry Crown Court convicted former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, 63, on 18 child sex abuse counts against two women, then remanded him in custody ahead of a September sentencing the judge said would be lengthy.
10 hours of jury deliberations over three days ended with guilty verdicts on offences spanning 1985 to 2008, including one rape count and multiple indecent assaults committed when both complainants were children.
Lady Eleanor Donaldson, tried on mental health grounds, was found to have done the acts in all five charges, including four counts of aiding and abetting her husband's abuse.
Gavin Robinson, who replaced Donaldson after his arrest, called the crimes "evil" and urged that he be stripped of his knighthood and Privy Council membership.
Victims' advocates said the two-year case and intense scrutiny underscored both the complainants' courage in speaking after decades and the need to speed up justice for abuse survivors.