Former DUP leader and long-standing Lagan Valley MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of 18 historical sex offences against two women when they were children, including one count of rape, 13 of indecent assault and four of gross indecency.

The jury at Newry Crown Court returned its verdict on Monday afternoon after deliberations across two days at the end of last week.

The 63-year-old ex-MP had pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences spanning a period between 1985 and 2008.

Two women – known as Complainants A and B to protect their identity – both gave evidence at the trial, alleging they had been abused by him as children.

Jeffrey Donaldson arriving at Newry Crown Court on Monday. Picture: Arthur Allison / Pacemaker Press.

placeholder image — Jeffrey Donaldson arriving at Newry Crown Court on Monday. Picture: Arthur Allison / Pacemaker Press.

Donaldson’s 60-year-old wife Eleanor, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, has been found to have committed the acts relating to offences of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending following a trial of the facts on mental health grounds.

The trial of the facts tested the evidence in the case but could not result in a criminal conviction.