Northern Ireland ex-DUP leader Donaldson sentenced to 15 years for child sex crimes

Judge says Jeffrey Donaldson never apologised to victims as politician seeks to appeal his convictions.

Northern Ireland's former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted of 18 counts of child sex abuse in June [File: Paul Faith/AFP]

The former leader of Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for child ⁠⁠sex offences.

Jeffrey Donaldson, who led the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), stared straight ahead as Judge Paul Ramsey handed down the 63-year-old’s sentence on Thursday.

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Ramsey described the case as “disturbing and disquieting”, ‌‌assessing Donaldson as having a medium chance of reoffending. He described the politician’s fall as “a catastrophic descent into disgrace”.

Donaldson has been in prison awaiting sentence since June after he was convicted of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency against two girls between ⁠⁠1985 and 2008.

He denied all the charges and is seeking to appeal against his convictions.

The case is one of the highest-profile cases in the British-run region in recent times.

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 immediately resigned as the leader of the DUP after he was charged with what he called “allegations of an historic nature”.

‘Worst moment’ of victim’s life

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 victim said her childhood had been stolen and that she had carried around feelings of “shame” ever since. The victims, neither of whom can be identified for legal reasons, gave evidence during ⁠⁠the trial.

Judge Ramsey said Donaldson had doubled down on his denials and not offered one word of an apology or expressed shame.

Donaldson will likely spend seven-and-a-half years in prison as he qualifies for an automatic remission of his sentence, the Lady Chief Justice’s Office of ⁠⁠Northern Ireland said. This is because the offences were committed before a change in the law allowing a judge to choose what portion of a sentence is spent in custody.

Former DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson signed paperwork with Britain’s then Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, and Chief Whip, Gavin Williamson at 10 Downing Street on June 26, 2017. Donaldson rose through ranks to become DUP leader [File: Daniel Leal-Olivas/Reuters]

In 2021, Donaldson became leader of the DUP, the party founded by Protestant cleric Ian Paisley at the height of three decades of sectarian bloodshed, which ended after a 1998 peace deal.

Donaldson was central to the negotiation of a crucial post-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom government two months before his arrest.

It enabled the end of the DUP’s two-year boycott of the devolved power-sharing assembly at Stormont and had also been expected to lead his party into the next UK general election.

Donaldson was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth for his political services in 2016.

He asked for his knighthood to be renounced two days after his conviction.

The jury also found that Donaldson’s wife, Eleanor, ‌‌aided and ‌‌abetted her husband. She has also denied the charges.

The court ruled her unfit to stand trial last month due to mental health issues, meaning she could not face criminal conviction.

法官称，杰弗里·唐纳森从未向受害者道歉，这位政客正寻求对其定罪提出上诉。

北爱尔兰前民主统一党（DUP）领导人杰弗里·唐纳森于6月被判犯有18项性侵儿童罪。[图片：保罗·费思/法新社]

北爱尔兰最大统一党的前领导人因性侵儿童罪被判处 15 年监禁。

周四，当法官保罗·拉姆齐宣判时，民主统一党（DUP）领导人杰弗里·唐纳森目不转睛地盯着前方。

列表 1/3：英国与欧盟达成新的北爱尔兰脱欧后贸易协议

北爱尔兰民主统一党（DUP）将投票反对与欧盟达成的新脱欧协议（名单共3份，此为第2份）。

列表 3（共 3 项）：北爱尔兰民主统一党 (DUP) 与英国就欧盟贸易达成了哪些协议？

拉姆齐形容此案“令人不安”，并评估唐纳森再次犯罪的可能性中等。他将这位政客的垮台描述为“一场灾难性的耻辱滑坡”。

唐纳森自 6 月以来一直在监狱等待判决，此前他被判犯有一项强奸罪、13 项猥亵罪和四项严重猥亵罪，受害者是两名女孩，犯罪时间在 1985 年至 2008 年之间。

他否认了所有指控，并正在寻求上诉推翻他的定罪。

这是近年来英国管辖地区最受瞩目的案件之一。

唐纳森是北爱尔兰最知名的政治家之一，也是英国议会中任职时间最长的议员。2024 年 3 月，他被捕并被起诉。

在被指控犯有他所谓的“历史性罪行”后，他立即辞去了民主统一党领导人的职务。

受害者一生中“最糟糕的时刻”

检察官罗斯玛丽·沃尔什上个月在量刑前听证会上表示，其中一名受害者将这种虐待描述为“她一生中最糟糕的时刻”。

另一名受害者表示，她的童年被偷走了，此后一直背负着“耻辱”之感。出于法律原因，两名受害者的身份均无法公开，她们在庭审中作证。

拉姆齐法官表示，唐纳森一再否认，没有一句道歉的话，也没有表示羞愧。

北爱尔兰首席大法官办公室表示，唐纳森很可能将在监狱服刑七年半，因为他符合自动减刑的条件。这是因为他的罪行发生在法律修改之前，新法律允许法官选择刑期中哪些部分需要在监狱服刑。

2017年6月26日，前民主统一党议员杰弗里·唐纳森在唐宁街10号与时任英国财政部议会秘书兼首席党鞭加文·威廉姆森签署了文件。唐纳森一路晋升，最终成为民主统一党领袖。[图片：丹尼尔·利尔-奥利瓦斯/路透社]

2021 年，唐纳森成为民主统一党（DUP）的领导人。该党由新教牧师伊恩·佩斯利在长达三十年的教派流血冲突高峰期创立，这场冲突在 1998 年的和平协议后结束。

在被捕前两个月，唐纳森在与英国政府谈判一项至关重要的脱欧后贸易协议的过程中发挥了核心作用。

这使得民主统一党结束了对北爱尔兰权力分享议会长达两年的抵制，并且人们也曾预期他将带领该党参加下届英国大选。

唐纳森因其政治贡献于 2016 年被已故女王伊丽莎白二世授予爵士头衔。

他在被定罪两天后要求放弃爵位。

陪审团还认定，唐纳森的妻子埃莉诺协助并教唆了她的丈夫。她也否认了这些指控。

上个月，法院裁定她因精神健康问题不适合接受审判，这意味着她不会面临刑事定罪。