'Catastrophic descent into disgrace': Jeffrey Donaldson jailed for 15 years for child sex offences against TWO VICTIMS
Jeffrey Donaldson, who led the Democratic Unionist Party before his arrest, faces sentencing today after being convicted of 18 counts of sexual abuse against two victims who were children when the offences took place.Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Eleanor, who was found to have aided and abetted his crimes but cannot be imprisoned on mental health grounds.
Judge Paul Ramsey told Newry Crown Court that Donaldson, 63, showed "no regret, apology or shame" as he handed the former DUP leader 15 years for 18 historical offences committed against two women during their childhoods. One victim told the court in a written statement: "Every day I pray God will let me die." Donaldson's wife Eleanor, 60, was separately ruled to have concealed the abuse — having witnessed some of it herself — making her complicit in his crimes.
Donaldson was convicted of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency committed between 1985 and 2008; among the offences was the rape of one victim at the age of seven or eight.
The automatic 50% remission rule means Donaldson will spend just seven-and-a-half years in custody, followed by a further seven-and-a-half years on licence.
The DUP said "justice has been done" and declared Donaldson "deserves every day" of his sentence for what it called "vile and disgusting crimes against innocent child victims."
