Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson found guilty of child sexual offences including rape
The 63 year-old was convicted of 18 sex offences against two women when they were children between 1985 and 2008
Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of 18 child sex offences including one count of rape.
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Donaldson, 63, was convicted of 18 historical sex offences against two women when they were children.
He had pleaded not guilty to the offences, which spanned a period between 1985 and 2008.
A jury at Newry Crown Court convicted Donaldson of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency.
His wife Eleanor Donaldson, 60, has been found to have aided and abetted his crimes after facing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, which tested the evidence but could not result in a criminal conviction.
He will be sentenced on September 25 and has been remanded in custody.
Donaldson showed no reaction to the verdicts as he stood with his hands folded in front of him.
Complainants A and B both gave evidence at the trial, alleging they were abused as children.
Jeffrey Donaldson spent two days giving evidence during the trial, where he repeatedly denied the allegations.
Donaldson became the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leadership in 2021.
The ex-leader was at the height of his powers when the police came knocking at his door early in the morning on March 28 2024.
His 40-year political career, including almost 30 years as the MP for Lagan Valley, came crashing to the ground when the police arrived to arrest over historical sexual offences.
Within hours he had quit as DUP leader and was suspended from the party.