Geoffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has been found guilty of sexual crimes against two underage girls, in a case that has shocked public opinion in Northern Ireland.
The proceedings began in 2024, after the two victims accused the politician of sexual abuse that, according to them, took place when they were still in primary school. He faced 18 criminal charges, including rape, indecent assault and gross indecency against the two girls, covering the period from 1985 to 2008.
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The court also found his wife, Eleanor, guilty of aiding and encouraging the commission of these criminal offenses. However, because of her mental condition, she was deemed unfit to stand trial and therefore did not receive a sentence.
According to testimony from the two victims, Donaldson had begun harassing them when they were in primary school. The first girl told the court that he had touched her chest and kissed her without her consent.
Meanwhile, the second victim said Donaldson raped her, an event that, according to her testimony, she has never been able to overcome. She added that the harassment continued during her teenage years, when he lifted her shirt and touched her chest.
Although the long passage of time made it impossible to carry out a forensic examination, the court decided to believe the accounts of the two girls.
Both also said that Donaldson later apologized for his actions. The first testified that she had met him by chance at a church service, while the second said he had sent her a written letter.
Donaldson was arrested in March 2024, when he was serving as DUP leader. After his arrest, he resigned from the post and was later expelled from the party. He had entered Parliament as early as 1985, when he was 22 years old, becoming the youngest MP.
One of the most important moments of his career was his involvement in the negotiated Belfast Agreement, which brought an end to hostilities in Northern Ireland.
After the restoration of the Devolved Government in May 2007, he was appointed by the DUP as the leading member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. He was also appointed by the Queen as a Privy Counsellor and took on the role of the DUP’s Defence Spokesman in the House of Commons.
The DUP remains the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland and supports the region remaining part of the United Kingdom. Donaldson had a key role in the Brexit negotiations and in the restoration of a coalition government at Stormont in 2024, which had made him one of the best-known political figures in the region.
