Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party, has been jailed for 15 years for child sex offences. Judge Paul Ramsey handed down the sentence on Thursday to the 63-year-old, who kept his gaze fixed ahead as it was read out.
Ramsey described the case as “disturbing and disquieting” and assessed Donaldson as having a medium chance of reoffending. He also called the politician’s downfall “a catastrophic descent into disgrace”.
Convictions over abuse of two girls
Donaldson had been held in custody awaiting sentence since June, after he was convicted of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency. All of the offences were committed against two girls between 1985 and 2008.
He has denied all the charges and is seeking to appeal against his convictions. The case stands among the most high-profile to emerge from the region in recent times.
Victims’ accounts and the judge’s remarks on remorse
Prosecutor Rosemary Walsh told a pre-sentencing hearing last month that one of the victims described the abuse as “the worst moment of her life”. The other said her childhood had been taken from her and that she had carried feelings of “shame” ever since.
Neither victim can be identified for legal reasons, and both gave evidence during the trial. Ramsey said Donaldson had doubled down on his denials and had not offered any apology or shown any sign of shame.
Political career, resignation and expected early release
Donaldson was one of Northern Ireland’s best-known politicians and its longest-serving lawmaker in the British Parliament when he was arrested and charged in March 2024. He stepped down as DUP leader immediately after being charged with what he described as “allegations of an historic nature”.
He had become party leader in 2021, and two months before his arrest he had been central to negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK government. That deal ended the DUP’s two-year boycott of the Stormont power-sharing assembly and was expected to carry the party into the next UK general election.
Donaldson was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2016 for his political services, but asked for the honour to be renounced two days after his conviction. The Lady Chief Justice’s Office of Northern Ireland said he will likely serve about seven and a half years, because he qualifies for automatic remission. The offences predated a change in the law that lets judges decide what portion of a sentence is served in custody.
The jury also found that his wife, Eleanor, aided and abetted him, and she has denied the charges. The court ruled her unfit to stand trial last month due to mental health issues, meaning she cannot face a criminal conviction.
