Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson sentenced to 15 years for child sexual abuse – latest updates

• 6m ago

  Sentencing hearing begins

• 27m ago

  Donaldson arrives at court in prison van

• 28m ago

  Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson to be sentenced for child sexual abuse

During his trial, Donaldson wore on his jacket lapel the Ichthys, a fish symbol that denotes a public declaration of Christian faith.

He wrote copious notes during witness testimony and seldom showed emotion, not even when it was his turn to testify, or when he was convicted.

Flanked by two custody officers on Thursday, he appeared impassive as the judge outlined the case in advance of passing sentence.

The sentencing hearing has begun, with judge Paul Ramsey delivering his remarks to the court.

He described it as a “disturbing and disquieting case”.

At Donaldson’s pre-sentencing hearing last month, prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh spoke of various tariffs for the offences, several of which carried a maximum sentence of two years.

But other offences carried a maximum sentence of between 10 and 14 years under historical tariffs for crimes, she told the court.

She said historical legislation did not differentiate between a child and an adult victim in all the counts, so the disparity in age between Donaldson and his victims should be considered an “aggravating” factor in sentencing.

She said Complainant B was “nine or 10” during some of the offending by Donaldson when he was 25 or 26 years old. She had described how she felt “sick” when he abused her and “wanted to scream out” but thought it was her fault.

Complainant B suffered other types of sexual assault by Donaldson when she was as young as “seven or eight”.

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A prison van believed to be carrying Jeffrey Donaldson has arrived at Newry crown court.

He was being held at Maghaberry prison in his former parliamentary constituency of Lagan Valley in County Antrim awaiting sentencing.

Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) in Northern Ireland, will be sentenced today for a string of sex offences against two women when they were children.

Donaldson, 63, will appear in Newry crown court after being found guilty earlier this year of 18 counts of sexual abuse including one count of rape against the women. The offences were committed between 1985 and 2008.

Extracts of the victim impact statements were read out in court by prosecution counsel Rosemary Walsh during a pre-sentencing hearing last month. One of the victims, Complainant B, described how the abuse she suffered as a child “affected her every day” and sometimes she struggled so much she “wishes she could die”. Complainant A wrote in her statement that she felt her childhood had been “stolen from her” and this had led to feelings of shame and anger.

Kieran Vaughan, mitigating for Donaldson, said during that hearing that the former Lagan Valley MP was a man of “previous good character” who “did achieve significant things”.

But he added: “These convictions obliterate all those achievements he has made in his life.”

Judge Paul Ramsey previously told Donaldson that he would face a “lengthy sentence”.

Donaldson led the DUP from 2021 until 2024 when he was charged with historical sexual offences. He denied the charges but a jury convicted him in June of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency.

Since his conviction, he has been stripped of his knighthood and removed from the privy council.

Donaldson’s wife, Eleanor, 60, was found unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds. She faced a trial of the facts, which can test evidence but not result in a criminal conviction, and was found to have aided and abetted her husband’s offending.

She cannot be given a prison sentence but could be given a treatment order or an absolute discharge. The judge is due to decide on this at a later date.

She has lodged an appeal to have the court conclusions overturned.