jeffrey donaldson was sent to the jury on Thursday morning after Judge Paul Ramsey spent about two hours summing up the case at Newry Crown Court. Donaldson, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including one count of rape.
The seven men and five women on the jury were told the prosecution must prove the case beyond reasonable doubt before they can convict. The trial, now in its fourth week, moves from evidence to deliberation after Donaldson testified over two days and both Complainant A and Complainant B gave evidence.
Ramsey at Newry Crown Court
Ramsey told jurors the trial was “reaching the closing stages” before sending them out to consider their verdicts. His summary came on Thursday morning, after the judge reviewed the evidence heard in the case.
The charges against Donaldson include four counts of gross indecency and 13 counts of indecent assault. The allegations concern two women who were children when they were allegedly sexually abused, with the offences said to date from 1985 to 2008.
Lady Eleanor Donaldson
Lady Eleanor Donaldson denies five charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending. She has not taken part in a conventional trial after being declared unfit for one on mental health grounds at a pre-trial hearing last month.
Instead, her case is being heard as a trial of the facts in her absence. The jury will decide whether she committed the acts alleged, but that process cannot result in a criminal conviction.
Donaldson and the jury
Donaldson sat in the dock during the judge's remarks. The verdict now turns on whether the jury accepts the prosecution case against the former Democratic Unionist Party leader on the 18 charges before it.
For the complainants and the two defendants, the case has reached the point where the jury must weigh the evidence and decide each count separately.
