Jeffrey Donaldson to appeal against conviction for child sexual offences

Former Democratic Unionist party leader’s legal team has lodged documents with the court of appeal in Belfast Jeffrey Donaldson is to appeal against his conviction for rape and other sexual offences against two children. The former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader’s legal team lodged documents with the court of appeal in Belfast on Friday, his solicitor, John McBurney, said. If granted the appeal will add another chapter to a case that stunned Northern Ireland and engulfed the DUP in crisis. A jury at Newry crown court found Donaldson, 63, guilty last month of 18 sexual offences against two victims who were children at the time of the abuse more than 30 years ago. Donaldson denied all the accusations – one count of rape plus gross indecency and indecent assault – which spanned 1985 and 2008. He has been held at Maghaberry prison in his former parliamentary constituency of Lagan Valley in County Antrim in advance of sentencing in September. The trial judge, Paul Ramsey, said a custodial sentence was inevitable and would be lengthy. Donaldson’s arrest in 2024, followed by the four-week trial and verdict, was a sensational downfall for an establishment figure who had dominated u