A UK court has sentenced Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of Northern Ireland’s largest political party, the Democratic Unionist Party, to 15 years in prison for raping and sexually abusing two minors between 1985 and 2008.
Judge Paul Ramsey rebuked Mr Donaldson, 63, saying he showed no “regret, apology or shame” for his actions, which scarred two young women who said they felt “shame” over the incidents. One of the women described the rape as “the worst moment of her life”.
Mr Ramsey sentenced him to four years for his sexual offences against Victim A and 11 years for those against Victim B. Both sentences are to run concurrently.
However, Mr Donaldson, who seeks to appeal the sentence, will serve only seven years in prison because his offences occurred before the implementation of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.
The former lawmaker was convicted in June of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency against two minors.
Mr Donaldson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 in recognition of his political contributions to the United Kingdom.
He requested the revocation of his knighthood after his conviction.
The jury that convicted Mr Donaldson also found his wife, Eleanor, to have been complicit in her husband’s sexual abuse of children. She denied the accusations.
However, the court did not put her on trial because of concerns about her mental health, finding her unfit to stand trial.
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