Prosecution opens case against ex-DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson

Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been accused by two women of sexually abusing them when they were children, his trial has heard.

The two women allege he subjected them to "difficult and traumatic incidents", jurors heard.

The former MP, 63, is accused of rape and several counts of gross indecency and of indecent assault. Sir Jeffrey has pleaded not guilty to the 18 alleged offences.

The charges span a time period between 1985 and 2008, and involve two alleged victims.

Sir Jeffrey's wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, 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.

Sir Jeffrey wore a blue suit and stood in the dock with his hands joined as the charges against him and his wife were read to the jury of seven men and five women.

Barrister Rosemary Walsh KC said two complainants had come forward to the police more than two years ago, reporting "difficult and traumatic incidents they say happened when they were children".

Ms Walsh said Complainant B, in March 2024, told police she had been sexually abused when she was a child and recalled two incidents "vividly".

In the first alleged incident, she told police Sir Jeffrey had placed his hand down her underwear, pulled her legs apart and sexually assaulted her.

In the second alleged incident, she told police Sir Jeffrey had lifted her top and began touching her breasts.

She said there were other incidents and that Sir Jeffrey had put his hands down her pants "a lot", Ms Walsh added.

The barrister told jurors that Complainant B had later been at a meeting with Sir Jeffrey at a Christian centre and had "apologised for what had happened in the past".

Complainant A also made a statement to the police in March 2024, alleging Sir Jeffrey had touched her on a number of occasions under her top when she was a child.

She told police that touching her had become something he had "done quite often", and alleged he would make comments about her appearance, including the size of her breasts.

Jurors heard the Donaldsons had been arrested on 28 March 2024, and were subject to a number of police interviews.

In Sir Jeffrey's interview, after Complainant B's account was put to him, he said it was "unbelievable" that he would have touched her in a sexual way. Regarding Complainant A, he denied having ever rubbed her breast.

Lady Donaldson is facing a trial of the facts, which is not a criminal trial and cannot result in a criminal conviction, after Judge Paul Ramsey ruled her unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds.

Sir Jeffrey, formerly a long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, was charged in March 2024.

He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.

(c) Sky News 2026: Prosecution opens case against ex-DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson