Former UK MP Jeffrey Donaldson pleads not guilty to charges of rape and other sexual offenses dating back nearly four decades. The trial is scheduled for March 2025.
On Tuesday, the former leader of Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party, Jeffrey Donaldson, 61, denied one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency, and 13 indecent assault charges involving two alleged victims between 1985 and 2008. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 58, also pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting the alleged crimes at Newry Crown Court.
Donaldson resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and quit as a UK MP after his arrest on March 28. His resignation came as a shock to the DUP, just months after the party agreed to return to Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government following negotiations on Britain’s post-Brexit trading arrangements with the EU.
During his tenure as DUP leader from 2021 to 2023, Donaldson was a prominent figure in Northern Ireland’s unionist movement, which aims to maintain ties with the United Kingdom. The trial, scheduled for March 2025, will determine the outcome of the allegations against Donaldson and his wife.
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