Jeffrey Donaldson due in court charged over sex offences

Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson is due to appear in court in Co Down this morning charged with rape and other historical sexual offences.

A 57-year-old woman is also due to appear at Newry Magistrate’s court charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the offences.

There will be a huge media presence outside Newry Magistrates Court, where Mr Donaldson is expected to appear in person rather than via video link.

He’s facing one charge of rape and a number of other sexual offences of an historical nature.

The MP for Lagan Valley strenuously denies all of the charges.

He resigned as DUP leader with immediate effect and was suspended from membership of the party following his arrest last month. He remains MP for Lagan Valley, a seat he’s held since 1997, as an independent.

Mr Donaldson was arrested by PSNI detectives at his home in Co Down at around 6am on Thursday 28 March and taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim Police station for questioning.

He was charged later that day.

The 57-year-old woman due to appear in court this morning charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the offences was arrested and questioned on the same day.

Both were released on police bail and Mr Donaldson has been living at an address in London since Friday 29 March. It’s understood he flew into Northern Ireland yesterday to ensure he makes it to Newry on time for the hearing.

Mr Donaldson’s arrest, charging and sudden resignation was a political bombshell.

His successor, interim DUP leader Gavin Robinson, has described the charges of historical sex offences as a “devastating revelation” for the party.

This is an unprecedented case in Northern Ireland’s political and legal history, the first time such a leading political figure has ever found themselves before the courts charged with serious sex offences.

There is huge media interest, with requests for access to the courtroom where the hearing will take place from broadcast and print media throughout Ireland and Britain.

Due to the size of the court, access has been restricted to 13 journalists, with 25 others able to watch proceedings in an adjoining courtroom via a video link.

There’s expected to be a large police presence due to the level of public interest and the fact that a number of men are due to appear in the same court later today charged with taking part in an illegal dissident republican parade in Newry in October 2019.

Under new laws that came into effect in Northern Ireland last year, no members of the public are allowed to be in court during sexual offences cases.

Northern Ireland’s Attorney General has warned of potential criminal offences from social media posts.

Earlier this month, Brenda King issued a statement about potential contempt of court issues and victims’ rights to anonymity.

Contempt of court issues are when someone acts in a way that risks unfairly influencing a case or jeopardising the possibility of someone receiving a fair trial.

It is an offence to publish anything that could result in the victims of sexual offences being identified without their consent.

The PSNI has also warned that social media speculation about the case could affect the judicial process.

There had been concerns that Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation could destablise the new Stormont Executive as he personally drove the DUP’s decision to end its two-year boycott of power sharing.

The other parties in the devolved administration feared that DUP opponents of the decision would feel emboldened by his resignation, but to date those fears have been unfounded.