Jeffrey Donaldson sentenced to 15 years in prison for rape and child sex assaults
Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for 18 sexual offences, including the rape of a child, committed between 1985 and 2008. He will serve seven and a half years in custody, with the judge noting his lack of remorse and the 'catastrophic' nature of his crimes.
Why it matters
The sentencing of a high-profile political figure for historical sexual abuse highlights issues of accountability and the impact of trauma on victims.
Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson will spend seven and a half years in prison after he was sentenced on Thursday for for 18 sexual offences, including the rape of a child.
Donaldson (63) was convicted at Newry Crown Court in June of 18 sex offences relating to the abuse of two women when they were children, on dates from 1985 to 2008.
He had denied the offences but the jury convicted him of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency.
On Thursday, Donaldson was sentenced to 11 years in prison on the rape charge and the other offences against his first victim, and a further four years for the offences committed against his second victim, to run consecutively – a total sentence of 15 years.
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