Wife of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson placed on sex offender register

The wife of former Democratic Unionist party leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been placed on the sex offender register for five years for aiding and abetting sexual offences committed by her husband.

Eleanor Donaldson, 60, appeared via remote link at Newry crown court on Friday, where Judge Paul Ramsey also imposed a three-year supervision and treatment order. She bowed her head and cried as the order was made. When asked whether she understood it, she nodded and said yes.

Her husband was convicted in June of 18 sexual offences, including one count of rape, spanning 1985 to 2008, against two women who were children at the time. The case stunned Northern Ireland and destroyed the career and reputation of a politician who had been the leading voice of unionism. In October he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Eleanor Donaldson had been deemed unfit to participate in a conventional trial on mental health grounds, so she instead faced a trial of the facts, in which a jury found that she had aided and abetted her husband's abuse. Because of that finding she could not be given a prison sentence, only a hospital order, a supervised treatment order or a discharge. Two experts, one for the prosecution and one for the defence, told the court that a supervised treatment order was the most appropriate option.

Ramsey said the medical evidence about Donaldson was unchallenged and that a supervision and treatment order was "inevitable". She will be supervised for three years by a social worker from the Craigavon community mental health team, which will require her to attend appointments and treatment and to receive home visits. She will also be subject to the notification provisions of the sex offender register for five years.

The victims, known as complainants A and B, were in court for Friday's hearing. The prosecutor, Rosemary Walsh KC, told the court that "pain permeated" their statements.

Donaldson's three-minute appearance on screen was the first time she had been seen in court since 2025. Wearing a black jumper, with close-cropped hair and two cuts on her forehead, she kept her eyes down and held a tissue.

Bronagh Muldoon, assistant director of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Northern Ireland, said aiding and abetting abuse required consequences. "It is right and important that the role she played in these terrible crimes has been recognised in court today," Muldoon said. "The women involved in this case have shown incredible bravery in coming forward to ensure the Donaldsons have both been held accountable."

The former DUP leader is appealing against his convictions, and his wife is appealing against the jury's verdict.