Former Northern Ireland DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson sentenced to 15 years for child sex crimes

Author: Al Jazeera StaffPublished on: October 15, 2026Country: United Kingdom
Crime & LawPolitics
Former Northern Ireland DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson sentenced to 15 years for child sex crimes

Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Northern Ireland. He was convicted of 18 offences against two girls, including one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency, committed between 1985 and 2008. Judge Paul Ramsey called the case disturbing and assessed Donaldson as having a medium chance of reoffending. Donaldson denies the charges and is seeking to appeal his convictions; the judge said he had offered no apology or expression of shame.

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