Alleged victim tells Donaldson trial she should have reported abuse claims earlier
Complainant in Donaldson Trial Admits She Delayed Reporting Abuse
During the cross-examination phase of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s sex abuse trial, one of the two alleged victims testified that she regrets waiting so long to report the incidents to authorities. The woman, identified in court as Complainant B, who accuses the former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader of raping her during her childhood, stated that she holds herself responsible for the subsequent abuse suffered by the other complainant in the case.
"It’s my fault what happened," she told the court.
Complainant B is the elder of the two women bringing allegations against Sir Jeffrey. The jury at Newry Crown Court was informed that ten of the eighteen sex abuse charges Sir Jeffrey denies pertain to her, with the alleged offenses taking place between 1985 and 1991.
According to the testimony, the complainant first revealed the alleged abuse to a woman affiliated with the Christian Family Centre in Armoy, County Antrim, while she was still a teenager. She explained that her silence was driven by feelings of embarrassment and a desire to avoid making the matter public. "I was so afraid of this - of all of this," she said.
She described her efforts to distance herself from the trauma, noting, "I tried to move on, to be the bigger person. I tried to not be the victim. I tried to build a life."
Both Complainant A and Complainant B submitted their allegations to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in March 2024. Following the reports, Sir Jeffrey and his wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, were arrested at their County Down residence later that month.
Sir Jeffrey also faces accusations of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A, which allegedly occurred between 1999 and 2008 when she was a child. He denies these charges as well. Lady Donaldson, who is undergoing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds and is not actively participating in the proceedings, denies five charges of aiding and abetting. The trial is ongoing.
Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-03 11:46:58 UTC
