Eleanor Donaldson ‘did nothing’ following alleged abuse incident, court hears
Kenneth Fox
A woman who claims she was abused by Jeffrey Donaldson as a child has said the former DUP leader’s wife “did nothing about it” after she informed her about one alleged incident.
Complainant A also rejected suggestions by a barrister that she is “making this up as you go along” in relation to the allegations.
Ex-MP Jeffrey Donaldson, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences.
The charges span a time period between 1985 and 2008 involving two alleged victims.
Eleanor Donaldson, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.
She is facing a trial of the facts.
Complainant A, one of the two alleged victims, has been giving evidence for a third day to the jury of seven men and five women at Newry Crown Court.
Jeffrey Donaldson sat in the dock at the rear of the courtroom, wearing a dark blue suit and taking occasional notes.
Complainant A was cross-examined on Monday by Ian Turkington KC, barrister for Eleanor Donaldson.
The barrister questioned her about why she had not mentioned during her police interviews in 2024 all of the counselling sessions she had received following the alleged abuse.
The witness said she had “nothing to hide” and had forgotten to mention some of the counselling.
Mr Turkington referred to Complainant A’s use of the words “really foggy” in her police interview, relating to her memories of some of the alleged abuse.
She said: “Many people know that childhood abuse is an issue with memory.
“I have tried to remember these events and convey them to the best of my ability.”
The barrister referred to notes made by a counsellor following a session with Complainant A, where he had recorded “Memory really poor, very bad”.
He said: “Which of those five words would you not use?”
She said: “I think it is unfair to say really bad… his notes are his interpretation.”
The barrister then referred to an allegation made by Complainant A that on one occasion, Donaldson had “perched” over the top of her, using a light to look at her “private parts” when she was of secondary school age.
Complainant A said she had raised the alleged abuse with Eleanor Donaldson following the incident.
She said: “I knew by the look on her face she knew I was telling the truth.
“Why would I make something like that up? I had no motive. Once she identified I was telling the truth, she did nothing about it.”
The barrister then turned to an allegation made by the complainant that Jeffrey Donaldson had kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth.
Complainant A said this had happened on several occasions, but there was one incident she had a “clear recollection of”.
She said she had told Eleanor Donaldson about the incident and that it was “laughed off”.
She said: “That does not mean it was laughed off by me… I can absolutely guarantee you I was not laughing at all.”
The barrister asked: “Are you making this up as you go along?”
She responded: “Absolutely not, I find it absolutely ridiculous that you infer that.”
The barrister then referred to an incident where she alleges Jeffrey Donaldson rubbed her chest with his hand under her clothing.
The court previously heard a claim from the complainant that Eleanor Donaldson had witnessed the incident but did not intervene.
Pressing her on the details of the alleged incident, the barrister said she was “spectacularly backtracking” in her evidence.
He said: “You are making this up as you go along.”
She said: “That is your assumption… I am here to tell the truth.”
The trial continues.
Jeffrey Donaldson, a former long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, was arrested and charged at the end of March 2024.
He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.
Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into devolved government at Stormont after a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.
