In opening statements delivered Wednesday at a crown court trial in Northern Ireland, a senior prosecutor outlined decades-old allegations of repeated sexual abuse against two underage girls leveled against Jeffrey Donaldson, the former head of the region’s largest pro-union political party.
The 63-year-old, who led the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2021 to 2023, has entered a full not guilty plea to all 18 charges against him: one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency, and 13 counts of indecent assault. The alleged offenses are tied to the two complainants and are said to have occurred between 1985 and 2006.
Addressing the jury at Newry Crown Court, prosecutor Rosemary Walsh explained that the two victims first brought their accounts of the “difficult and traumatic childhood incidents” to police more than two years ago. The younger complainant told investigators that Donaldson groped her when she was of primary school age, Walsh said. The older complainant, identified in court proceedings only as Complainant B, reported that the abuse persisted for multiple years. Years after the alleged abuse ended, Complainant B said a mediated meeting was arranged through a local church, where Donaldson personally apologized for the harm he caused in the past, Walsh added.
When questioned by law enforcement following his March 2024 arrest, Donaldson dismissed the allegations as unbelievable, insisting he never sexually touched either complainant. Donaldson stepped down immediately from his role as DUP leader and resigned his seat in the UK House of Commons shortly after his arrest. His departure sent shockwaves through Northern Ireland’s political establishment, coming just weeks after the DUP ended a two-year boycott of the region’s devolved power-sharing government. The party had returned to the governing arrangement after Donaldson secured key concessions from the UK government and European Union over post-Brexit trading rules for the region, a contentious issue that had divided unionist communities for years.
As DUP leader, Donaldson was the most prominent and influential figure in Northern Ireland’s unionist movement, which advocates for retaining the region’s constitutional status as part of the United Kingdom, opposing reunification with the Republic of Ireland.
Donaldson’s wife Eleanor has also pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged crimes. However, she is not present in court for the proceedings: Judge Paul Ramsey ruled she is unfit to stand trial due to ongoing mental health challenges. While the jury will review the facts of the case against her, she cannot be convicted or sentenced if the jury finds the allegations proven. The overall trial is expected to proceed over the course of four weeks, with the jury set to deliver a verdict on all counts after closing arguments.