Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson to be sentenced for child sexual abuse – latest updates
Summary
Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), will be sentenced for multiple sexual offenses against two women when they were children. He was found guilty of 18 counts, including rape, for crimes committed between 1985 and 2008.Key Facts
- Jeffrey Donaldson, aged 63, is the former leader of the DUP, leading from 2021 to 2024.
- He was convicted in June 2026 of 18 sexual abuse charges, including one count of rape.
- The offenses involved two women when they were children and took place over more than two decades (1985-2008).
- Victims shared impact statements describing long-lasting emotional harm caused by the abuse.
- Donaldson has been stripped of his knighthood and removed from the privy council since his conviction.
- His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was found unfit to stand trial but was found to have helped with his offending.
- Eleanor faces no prison time but may receive a treatment order or absolute discharge; she has appealed the court's findings.
- Donaldson is to be sentenced in Newry crown court and faces a lengthy prison term.
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