Ex-leader of Northern Ireland''s biggest unionist party faces sex offense charges dating to 1985

The former leader of Northern Irelands biggest unionist party made his first court appearance Wednesday on sexual abuse charges dating back nearly four decades.Jeffrey Donaldson, 61, faces one charge of rape and 10 other counts dating from 1985 to 2006.His wife, Eleanor Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, 58, faces four counts of aiding and abetting the alleged crimes.The two did not enter pleas during a brief appearance together in Newry Magistrates Court.

The former leader of Northern Ireland's biggest unionist party made his first court appearance Wednesday on sexual abuse charges dating back nearly four decades.

Jeffrey Donaldson, 61, faces one charge of rape and 10 other counts dating from 1985 to 2006.

His wife, Eleanor Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, 58, faces four counts of aiding and abetting the alleged crimes.

The two did not enter pleas during a brief appearance together in Newry Magistrates Court. They spoke only to confirm their names, birth dates and to acknowledge they understood the charges. They were released on bail.

Donaldson resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, after he was arrested on March 28. In a letter to party leaders, Donaldson said he would be "strenuously contesting" the charges. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the arrest followed a complaint about "non-recent offenses" that was made in early March. The charges involve two alleged victims. Donaldson faces a count of rape, a single charge of gross indecency and nine sexual assault charges. His resignation shocked the DUP just months after the party agreed to return to Northern Ireland's power-sharing government after he won concessions on Britain's post-Brexit trading arrangements with the European Union.

As leader of the DUP between 2021 and 2023, he was the most powerful figure in Northern Ireland's unionist movement, which seeks to maintain the region's historic ties to the United Kingdom.

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