Early Suspicion of Jeffrey Donaldson's Abuse
A police detective suspected that Jeffrey Donaldson could be a secret child abuser a year before he was formally named to police, according to claims revealed by a BBC investigation.
The detective, along with a child safeguarding expert, identified Donaldson after speaking with the victim, referred to in the recent sex abuse trial as Complainant A.
A former senior police officer told the BBC that such suspicions should have been escalated to the chief constable.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) declined to comment due to ongoing legal proceedings. Donaldson is awaiting sentencing later this year after being found guilty of 18 sex abuse charges earlier this month.
Initial Meeting at Presbyterian Church Headquarters
In March 2023, a meeting was held at the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's headquarters involving Complainant A and her partner, a detective chief inspector (DCI), alongside the church's head of safeguarding at the time, Dr Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin.
The couple sought to understand the process for reporting abuse. During this meeting, Complainant A did not name her abuser, and Donaldson was not identified to police until 2024.
However, Montgomery-Devlin told BBC NI's Spotlight programme that both she and the DCI believed the woman was describing Donaldson.
"She made it clear, as did he, that they were talking about a very high profile person here. And, if they were to make a complaint, the chances are that they would have to leave Northern Ireland," she said.
"When they had left the office, I don't know why, but I said to the detective chief Inspector: 'I think this is Jeffrey Donaldson'.
"There was nothing that the couple said to me apart from 'high profile' that made me think that.
"Later that same evening the Detective Chief Inspector contacted me and she had discovered and was able to confirm to me that it was Jeffrey Donaldson."
Former Senior Officer's View on Intelligence Handling
Former Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter stated that suspicion alone should have triggered a series of actions leading swiftly to the top of the PSNI and possibly the government.
"That information would have become what we call intelligence that indicated that Jeffrey Donaldson was alleged to have committed sex abuse," he said.
"We have a high profile politician who, as a constituency MP, has access to vulnerable adults, who could have access to young people.
"It certainly should have made its way to the chief constable, and if the chief constable determined there would be a national security risk on the decapitation of the leadership of the DUP, then he would be duty-bound to inform the government."
Subsequent Identification and Police Investigation
Complainant A and Complainant B later named Donaldson as their abuser during a further meeting with police in March 2024.
Spotlight inquired with the DCI who attended the meeting and the PSNI regarding any intelligence about Donaldson prior to that meeting and what risk assessments had been conducted.
In a statement to Spotlight, the PSNI said:
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland have conducted a thorough investigation into non-recent sexual abuse allegations.
As legal proceedings are ongoing, we will not be making any comment."
Details of Abuse and Legal Proceedings
The victims' accounts of sexual abuse, which occurred between 1985 and 2008 when they were children, resulted in Donaldson being convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse, including one count of rape.
He is currently in custody and will be sentenced later this year.
Donaldson's wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faced a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, where the jury was asked to determine whether she committed the acts she was accused of.
The jury found that she had committed the acts related to all five charges, including four counts of aiding and abetting her husband's offending.
Spotlight Programme
Spotlight: Politician, Predator and Paedophile
Inside the double life of Jeffrey Donaldson: Political stardom hiding child sex abuse.
- Ex DUP leader Donaldson guilty of child sex abuse charges including one of rape
- DUP commissioning review following Jeffrey Donaldson conviction
