Jeffrey Donaldson trial hears accuser describe details of alleged rape

A jury in Northern Ireland has heard details of the alleged rape of a child by the former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson.

A police interview with the complainant was played to Newry crown court in Northern Ireland on Tuesday on the sixth day of the former MP’s trial for sex offences.

Witness B, who is now an adult, described the alleged assault and said she still lived with the memory. “The actions that night I will never forget, what happened that night will live with me for ever.”

Donaldson, 63, faces 18 charges, including one count of rape, which span from 1985 to 2008 and involve two alleged victims. His wife, Eleanor, 60, is charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault. Both deny all the charges.

In the interview, recorded at a police station in March 2024, the complainant said that as a child she was sexually abused by the then MP and felt she could not confide in anyone. “I remember telling my imaginary friend.”

She detailed two alleged incidents, the first occurring while she was of primary school age. “I remember being really still and all I could hear was his breath.” She alleged he put his hands down her pants and she recalled thinking “please, let this be it”.

After describing the alleged assault in more detail, she said: “I hated it yet I thought if I pretend to be asleep he’ll just stop and lose interest. I thought what’s the point in shouting.” The next day she felt “sick” and “anxious”, she said.

The complainant said she was of secondary school age during the alleged second incident. “He lifted up my top and started playing with my breasts.” She alleged that Donaldson’s wife witnessed part of the incident and walked away.

Donaldson, wearing a dark blue suit, sat in the dock, took notes and on occasion shook his head. Eleanor Donaldson, who has been judged unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds, was not present. She is facing a trial of the facts, which tests the evidence but cannot result in a criminal conviction.

The complainant said that when she was a teenager a Christian centre brokered a meeting with Donaldson during which he allegedly apologised “for what he had done to me in the past”.

Kieran Vaughan, a barrister for the former MP, challenged the complainant’s memory, saying she could not remember her age at the time of the alleged rape. He suggested the event did not happen and asked her why she did not tell anyone at the time.

She replied: “It was my biggest mistake not telling anybody back then. I regret that every day. I didn’t know the words, I knew it was wrong.”

The trial continues.