The jury in the sex abuse trial of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been sent out to consider its verdicts, after a judge instructed them that they must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt before they can convict.
Judge Paul Ramsey spent about two hours summing up the case on Thursday morning at Newry Crown Court before sending the seven men and five women to begin their deliberations at 13:20 BST. The trial is in its fourth week.
“Jury sent out to consider verdicts in Jeffrey Donaldson's sex abuse trial”
The former Democratic Unionist Party leader, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including one count of rape, arising from allegations he sexually abused two women when they were children between 1985 and 2008. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, 60, denies five charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending.
Earlier, the judge told the jury the trial was now “reaching the closing stages”. He said: “Only where you are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt can you convict … that is the law.”
Sir Jeffrey, wearing a dark suit and a pink tie, sat in the dock with his arms folded while the judge delivered his remarks. The alleged victims, referred to as Complainants A and B, have both given evidence at the trial, and Sir Jeffrey also testified over two days.
The Donaldsons were arrested at their County Down home and charged on 28 March 2024. At a pre-trial hearing last month, Lady Donaldson was declared unfit for a conventional trial on mental health grounds. She has not participated in proceedings and instead is undergoing a trial of the facts in her absence. The jury will decide if she committed the acts alleged, but it cannot result in a criminal conviction.
Sir Jeffrey is accused of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 counts of indecent assault. He has previously denied that an apology he made to one of the alleged victims was about the abuse, insisting it was not because of any offences committed against her.
The jury must now decide whether the prosecution has proven its case against both defendants beyond reasonable doubt.