- Ex-DUP leader Donaldson, 61, charged with rape and sex offences
- Wife Eleanor Donaldson also charged with aiding him
- Both granted bail after Newry Magistrates Court appearance
Longest-serving Member of Parliament for Northern Ireland, Donaldson, 61, was suspended from the Democratic Unionist Party last month in connection with his detention.
Former Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been charged in court with rape and additional historical sex offences.
Between 1985 and 2006, he was charged with one count of rape, one count of gross indecency towards a minor, and nine counts of sexual assault.
Eleanor Donaldson, his 58-year-old spouse, accompanied him to court and has been charged with conspiring and supporting him.
Following their appearances at the Newry Magistrates Court in Co Down, both were granted bail.
Long-serving Member of Parliament for Northern Ireland, Donaldson, 61, was suspended by the party subsequent to his apprehension one month ago.
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The DUP issued the following statement at the time: “Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP has confirmed in a letter to the Party Chairman that he has been charged with historical allegations and that he is resigning as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party immediately.
Party Officers have suspended Mr. Donaldson from membership pending the outcome of a legal proceeding, as mandated by the Party Rules.
The charges against Donaldson were vigorously contested, he stated in his letter of resignation. The day before, he was apprehended from his residence in County Down and transported to the Antrim Police Station for further interrogation.
In 2016, Donaldson, a 27-year Lagan Valley Member of Parliament, was knighted in recognition of his political service.
He assisted in negotiating a £1 billion confidence and supply agreement between the DUP and the minority Tory government of Theresa May from 2017 to 2019, when the DUP held the balance of power at Westminster.
Recently, he reconciled and re-led his party into the Stormont power-sharing administration, which it had previously opposed for a period of two years on account of trade arrangements following Brexit.
