We're expecting reaction from police and prosecutors outside Newry courthouse soon.

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Image source, MARK MARLOW/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

In a statement following its former leader's sentencing, the DUP said "justice has been done" for Donaldson's "vile and disgusting crimes against his victims".

"Our first thoughts are again with the innocent victims, who having suffered such evil, were re-traumatised through giving evidence at the trial. They deserve our compassion, support and respect. We hope they can find some measure of comfort and can look ahead to a new chapter in their lives," the statement said.

"Regardless of status or position every individual must be held accountable for their actions.

"He deserves every day of the lengthy prison sentence he has to serve following the guilty verdict for preying on innocent child victims."

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Prior to sentencing, the judge said aggravating features in this case include the length and protracted nature of the offending spanning many years.

He also took into account the youth of the victims and the age difference between them and Donaldson.

He said he cannot accept that Donaldson's lack of other convictions are a mitigating factor.

The judge said by contesting a case, a defendant avoids the reduction in sentence they would have got if they had pleaded guilty.

"In this case it is highly significant that the defendant denied the offences to the police, he denied them in evidence and to the probation officer he continues to maintain his denials," the judge said.

"He has doubled-down in his denials," he added.

“There has not been, and doubtless will not be, one word of regret, apology or shame from this man to at least provide his victims with some crumb of comfort."

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

As he sentenced Donaldson, Judge Ramsey asked him to stand and told him his offences had led to a "catastrophic descent into disgrace".

He sentenced Donaldson to 11 years in prison for the offences committed against Victim B and four years for the offences committed against Victim A, which will run consecutively for a total of 15 years in jail.

Donaldson stood with his hands clasped and showed no emotion as he was sentenced.

He was then taken back into custody to begin his jail term.

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sex abuse, including rape.

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Now the judge moves on to Victim B's impact statement.

She says the abuse has affected every relationship she ever had.

"Every day I pray God will let me die," she says.

She says Donaldson could have avoided going to court but he implied that not only did none of the abuse happen, but accused her of making it up.

"I wonder what it is like not to be afraid at night," she says, adding that she wakes up shaking after nightmares.

Just a reminder why the victims in the case are referred to as Complainant A and B - in all cases of sex offences, there are strict laws in place to protect the identities of the victims.

They are given lifelong anonymity - and anyone found to have broken that can face a severe punishment in the courts.

Last week, a woman who breached the anonymity of one of Donaldson's victims was sentenced to three months in prison.

Image source, PA Media

Donna Toman, 55, pleaded guilty, having been charged after posting about the case on social media.

Toman, of Lord Moira Park in Ballynahinch, County Down, has been released on bail pending an appeal.

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Judge Ramsey says he will not read out the victim impact statements in full because they are private in nature.

But he says one thing that is clear is how difficult the victims found the trial process.

Victim A says she found it "re-traumatising" and that although the offences happened in the past their impact did not end when the abuse ended.

She says she grew up feeling ashamed and dirty and carried an enormous amount of anger.

She says she has extremely low self worth and confidence.

She goes on to say she has lived with anxiety for many years and has been medicated since her 20s and has attempted counselling many times.

Victim A says she still experiences nightmares and finds the impact of the abuse physically debilitating.

The public nature of the case, she says, has had an impact, including on her confidence, and that her freedom has been impacted, describing the past few years as "a living nightmare".

Donaldson shows no emotion in the dock as this information is read out.

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Judge Ramsey is now outlining information from a pre-sentence report.

It says that Donaldson, throughout the report, "stoutly" denied his guilt and said he intended to appeal his convictions.

It says he has taken a lack of responsibility for his offending and has a lack of empathy for his victims.

The author of the report said the offences were clearly "concerning and represented a long campaign of sexual abuse of young children".

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Judge Ramsey is now running through the charges which Donaldson was convicted of.

He says there is no need for him to recount the testimony of the victims in detail but he will now briefly sum up Donaldson's offending.

He begins by describing the offending against Complainant B - the older of the two victims - including her being raped by Donaldson and an occasion in which he touched her exposed breasts.

The judge then moves on to Complainant A, describing offences including Donaldson rubbing her breasts under her clothing and kissing her with his tongue in her mouth.

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Judge Paul Ramsey has begun addressing the court.

He sets out that Donaldson was convicted unanimously by a jury on 18 counts.

He describes the case as "disturbing and disquieting".

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

Jeffrey Donaldson has entered the dock in courtroom one of Newry Crown Court.

This is the first time he has been seen outside the walls of Maghaberry Prison since a pre-sentence hearing in September.

He is wearing a blue suit, white shirt and pink tie.

He is flanked by two prison officers.

Image source, Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Jeffrey Donaldson was one of Northern Ireland’s most prominent politicians, serving as leader of the DUP from 2021 until his resignation in March 2024.

Born in December 1962, the oldest of five boys and three girls, Donaldson was brought up in rural Kilkeel, County Down.

He first entered politics when he worked for MP Enoch Powell between 1982 and 1984 after joining the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

Donaldson's own career in front-line politics began in 1985 when he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent South Down. He was subsequently elected to Parliament in 1997 to represent the Lagan Valley constituency for the Ulster Unionists.

In 2003, he left the UUP to join the DUP due to his long-standing opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the leadership of David Trimble.

He was knighted in 2016 for political service and elected leader of the DUP in 2021.

As DUP leader, he played a key role in negotiations with the UK government over post-Brexit trading arrangements, helping to secure his party’s return to power-sharing at Stormont in 2024 after a two-year stalemate.

Donaldson resigned in March 2024 after being charged with historical sexual offences. In June 2026, he was convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse, including one count of rape, which he committed against two women when they were children.

Read more about Donaldson's life and career here.

Warning: This post contains distressing information.

Complainant B is the elder of the two women and said Donaldson sexually abused her as a child.

Ten of the 18 sex abuse charges related to Complainant B, including one count of rape.

The offences were committed between 1985 and 1991.

Like Complainant A, Complainant B took to the stand during the trial via video link and the court also heard an interview she gave to police.

During the interview, she said Donaldson put his hand down her underwear "quite a lot" and detailed the rape.

The court heard of another incident in which Donaldson "lifted her top up and her bra and started to touch her exposed breasts".

Complainant B also said Eleanor Donaldson witnessed an incident in which her husband had "played" with her breasts, but walked away.

Jeffrey Donaldson denied the allegations made by Complainant B throughout the trial.

While in the witness box, when speaking about the allegations, he said: "I've told the truth and I believe what has been alleged is untrue."

Eleanor Donaldson had denied five charges including four related to aiding and abetting incidents linked to both Complainant A and Complainant B.

Warning: This post contains distressing information.

There were two victims in this case and they were referred to as Complainants A and B.

Complainant A is the younger of the two women who Donaldson sexually abused as children.

He was found guilty of eight offences against Complainant A, which occurred between 1999 and 2008.

Complainant A took the stand via video link during the trial and the court also heard an interview she gave to police.

During the police interview, she described a number of encounters with Donaldson, including a kiss in which she said he put his tongue in her mouth.

She also said he had put his hands under her bra and rubbed her breasts.

In another encounter, the court heard he used a bright light, possibly a torch, to look at her private parts, an experience that she said made her feel "really frightened".

Complainant A also said his wife Eleanor Donaldson had witnessed the incident when he had rubbed her chest with his hand under her clothing, but did not intervene.

Jeffrey Donaldson denied the allegations throughout the trial, including during two days on the witness stand.

Eleanor Donaldson had denied five charges including four related to aiding and abetting incidents linked to both Complainant A and Complainant B.

Image source, PA Media

Donaldson was found guilty of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 counts of indecent assault against two women when they were children.

He had denied all 18 charges.

The offences occurred between 1985 and 2008.

The 63-year-old former DUP leader showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out at Newry Crown Court back in June.

His wife Eleanor Donaldson had faced a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, meaning the jury was asked to find out if she did the acts or did not do the acts of which she was accused.

They found that she had done the acts in relation to all five charges - including four counts of aiding and abetting her husband's offending.

The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for 10 hours over three days before coming to their verdicts.

Read more about the verdict here.

A few minutes ago, Donaldson arrived at Newry Crown Court, having been transported in a white prison van from Maghaberry Prison.

Almost four months after he was found guilty of a series of child sex offences, including rape, former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson will find out this morning how long he will spend in prison.

Having walked the corridors of power at Stormont and Westminster for decades, he has spent the days since his conviction inside Maghaberry Prison, situated in the Lagan Valley constituency he represented during his political career.

Over the next few hours, we'll take you through the background to the case and provide live updates from the courtroom as the judge hands down Donaldson's sentence.