Jeffrey Donaldson trial hears interview with complainant about alleged rape
By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association
A jury has heard a woman describe details of the moment she alleges she was raped as a child by Jeffrey Donaldson.
The complainant told of hearing the former DUP leader’s “heavy breathing” during the alleged sexual assault.
A police interview with a second alleged victim in Donaldson’s sexual offences trial has been played at Newry Crown Court.
The ex-MP, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences.
The charges span a time period between 1985 and 2008 involving two alleged victims.
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.
Complainant B, one of the two alleged victims, was not in the courtroom, but appeared via a video link.
Her ABE (achieving best evidence) interview with police was played to the jury of seven men and five women on Tuesday morning.
Jeffrey Donaldson sat in the dock at the rear of the courtroom, while the interview, which was recorded in March 2024, was played.
In the interview the complainant said that growing up she was “sexually abused by an adult”.
She said she particularly remembered two incidents.
The woman frequently became emotional during the interview.
In the first, she claimed, Donaldson had put his hands down her underwear, pulled her legs apart and then sexually assaulted her.
She said the second incident occurred when she was slightly older when, she said, Donaldson “lifted up my top” and touched her breasts.
Asked by a police officer if there were other incidents, she said she remembered “his hands down my pants a lot”.
She said: “I remember I couldn’t tell anybody, I remember telling my imaginary friend.”
Asked by police for the name of her alleged abuser, she said “Jeffrey Donaldson MP”.
Asked about the first incident, she said it occurred when she was of primary school age.
She said: “I remember being really still and all I could hear was his breath.”
The complainant said she remembered Donaldson putting his hands down her pants and thinking “please, let this be it”.
The complainant said Donaldson put his feet between her feet and pulled her legs apart.
She said: “I kept thinking it is OK, it will be over soon… I remember hearing his breathing.”
The complainant then said she felt “something different” and said that Donaldson was on top of her, but slightly to the right.
She said: “First of all I didn’t know what it was because I could still feel his hands.”
She then said he sexually assaulted her.
The complainant said: “I don’t know if it continued or if that was it.”
She added: “I just kept my eyes closed.”
She said: “I just remember hearing his heavy breathing.”
The trial continues.
Jeffrey Donaldson, a former long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, was arrested and charged at the end of March 2024.
He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.
Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into devolved government at Stormont after a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
