Judge Paul Ramsey imposed 3 years of supervision and treatment on Eleanor Donaldson and placed her under sex-offender notification requirements for 5 years after a jury found she aided her husband’s abuse.
Newry Crown Court ordered Eleanor Donaldson to undergo 3 years of supervision and treatment on 13 November, after a jury found she had aided and abetted sexual abuse by her husband, former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson. Judge Paul Ramsey also imposed sex-offender notification requirements for 5 years.
Eleanor Donaldson had been found unfit on mental health grounds to take part in a conventional criminal trial. Instead, a jury heard a trial of the facts and found that she had aided and abetted the abuse; that finding was not a conviction following a conventional trial.
According to general guidance on the procedure in England and Wales, a trial of the facts hears evidence and asks the jury to decide whether the defendant committed the charged act or omission, rather than conducting a conventional criminal trial.
Under the procedure used in her case, the court could not sentence Donaldson to prison. Its options were a hospital order, supervised treatment or discharge. Medical experts for both the prosecution and defense recommended supervised treatment; Ramsey said their evidence was unchallenged and the order was inevitable.
A social worker from the Craigavon community mental health team will supervise her. Ramsey said the order requires appointments, treatment and home visits, The Guardian said. Donaldson appeared by remote link and told the judge she understood the order.
General UK registration requirements include providing police with identifying information and a home address initially and confirming registration annually. Changes to a name, address, bank details, passport or other identification document must be reported to police within 3 days.
Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted of 18 sexual offenses, including one count of rape, committed between 1985 and 2008 against two women when they were children. He received a 15-year prison sentence in October and is appealing his convictions.
The women, known as Complainants A and B, attended Eleanor Donaldson’s hearing. Prosecutor Rosemary Walsh KC told the court that “pain permeated” their statements. Eleanor Donaldson is appealing the jury’s finding against her.
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