Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World News

Former top Northern Irish politician Jeffrey Donaldson to stand trial over alleged sex offenses

The former leader of Northern Ireland’s most prominent pro-union party, Jeffrey Donaldson, will stand trial over allegations of historical sex offenses including one charge of rape.

Donaldson stepped down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in March after he was charged with 11 sexual offenses.

The politician has since been charged with a further seven offenses. The 18 alleged offenses include: one charge of rape, 13 charges of indecent assault of a female child and four charges of gross indecency towards a child.

Donaldson was asked in court if he wanted to comment on the charges, according to PA Media. “Not at this stage,” he replied, the news agency reported.

His wife Eleanor Donaldson is also set to stand trial in September and has been charged with one charge of aiding and abetting rape, three charges of aiding and abetting assault of a female child and one charge of cruelty towards a person under the age of 16.

Donaldson led the DUP from 2019, throughout much of the turbulent Brexit process, regularly voicing his opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, a key part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that ensured there was no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Both Donaldson and his wife have previously denied all charges, Irish public broadcaster RTÉ reported Wednesday.

Donaldson’s trial was announced as people in Northern Ireland were preparing to vote in the UK general election. As one of the UK’s four devolved nations, Northern Ireland has 18 seats in the Westminster parliament. Northern Irish politicians can choose to either run for a seat in Westminster or for a seat in the devolved legislature, the Northern Ireland Assembly. Lawmakers from the leading Nationalist party, Sinn Féin do not take up their seats in Westminster if elected.

Donaldson had been slated to run again in the Lagan Valley constituency but has been replaced by former DUP party colleague Jonathan Buckley.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

    You May Also Like

    Stocks

    In this episode of StockCharts TV‘s The MEM Edge, Mary Ellen reviews what’s shaping up in the broader markets after the Fed announced their rate cut...

    Tech

    Meta has lowered the minimum age to use the popular messaging platform WhatsApp. The move, which came into effect on Thursday, reduces the age...

    Tech

    Astronomers have discovered the Milky Way’s “most massive” stellar black hole yet. The newly discovered black hole is 33 times bigger than the sun...

    Business

    Stocks sold off Friday as inflation and geopolitical worries once again dented investor sentiment on Wall Street. A broad decline in major bank shares...

    Disclaimer: globalwashingtonwebinar.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 globalwashingtonwebinar.com | All Rights Reserved