Jury finds Northern Ireland's Donaldson guilty of historic child sex offences

A jury in Northern Ireland found former politician Jeffrey Donaldson guilty on Monday of historic child sex offences against two women when they were children at dates between 1985 and 2008.

He was found guilty of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency, the court heard. He denied all charges.

Donaldson, 63, was one of Northern Ireland's best-known politicians when he was arrested and charged in March 2024. He immediately stepped down as head of the Democratic Unionist Party, the region's largest pro-British unionist party.

(Reporting by Amanda Ferguson; Writing by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 6:32 AM.