A jury in Northern Ireland has heard details of the alleged rape of a child by former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson. The complainant, referred to as Witness B, gave a police interview that was played at Newry Crown Court on Tuesday, the sixth day of the former MP's trial for sex offences.
Witness B, now an adult, described the alleged assault and said she still lives with the memory. "The actions that night I will never forget, what happened that night will live with me for ever," she said in the interview.
Donaldson, 63, faces 18 charges, including one count of rape, spanning from 1985 to 2008 and involving two alleged victims. His wife, Eleanor, 60, is charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault. Both deny all charges.
In the interview, recorded in March 2024, the complainant said she was sexually abused as a child and felt unable to confide in anyone. "I remember telling my imaginary friend," she said. She detailed two alleged incidents, the first occurring when she was of primary school age. "I remember being really still and all I could hear was his breath," she said, alleging he put his hands down her pants. She recalled thinking, "please, let this be it."
After describing the alleged assault in more detail, she said: "I hated it yet I thought if I pretend to be asleep he'll just stop and lose interest. I thought what's the point in shouting." The next day she felt "sick" and "anxious".
The complainant said the second alleged incident occurred when she was of secondary school age. "He lifted up my top and started playing with my breasts," she alleged, adding that Donaldson's wife witnessed part of the incident and walked away.
Donaldson, wearing a dark blue suit, sat in the dock, took notes, and occasionally shook his head. Eleanor Donaldson, who has been judged unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds, was not present. She is facing a trial of the facts, which tests the evidence but cannot result in a criminal conviction.
The complainant said that when she was a teenager, a Christian centre brokered a meeting with Donaldson during which he allegedly apologised "for what he had done to me in the past".
Kieran Vaughan, a barrister for the former MP, challenged the complainant's memory, noting she could not recall her age at the time of the alleged rape. He suggested the event did not happen and asked why she did not tell anyone at the time. She replied: "It was my biggest mistake not telling anybody back then. I regret that every day. I didn't know the words, I knew it was wrong."
The trial continues.
