Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has arrived at Newry Crown Court for the start of his trial for a series of alleged historical sexual offences. The 63-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences, including one count of rape and allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency, spanning the period between 1985 and 2008 and involving two alleged victims.
Court proceedings begin
Proceedings at Newry Crown Court on Tuesday are focused on the process of selecting a jury. Donaldson arrived at the courthouse in Co Down shortly after 9am, wearing a blue suit with a white shirt and green tie. He was met by his solicitor John McBurney, who accompanied him into the building. Police had erected metal barriers at the court entrance prior to his arrival to cordon off the waiting media.
Wife's involvement
Donaldson's wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, 60, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband's alleged offending. She is facing a trial of the facts, not a criminal trial, after Judge Paul Ramsey ruled her unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds. The trial of the facts will test the evidence in the case but cannot result in a criminal conviction. It will be heard by the same jury, with proceedings against both Donaldsons running simultaneously as part of one overall trial process presided over by Judge Ramsey.
Background
Jeffrey Donaldson, a former long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, was arrested and charged at the end of March 2024. He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged. Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into devolved government at Stormont after a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.
