The Jeffrey Donaldson trial has heard the former Democratic Unionist Party leader deny that he attended a late-1990s meeting with one of his accusers to shut down allegations of child sexual abuse before they could go further.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, 63, was giving evidence for a second day at Newry Crown Court, where he denies 18 charges, including rape, linked to alleged offences said to have taken place between 1985 and 2008.
The case, now in its third week, involves two alleged victims, identified in court as Complainant A and Complainant B. Both allege they were abused by Donaldson when they were children.
What the court heard about the Armoy meeting
Prosecution lawyer Rosemary Walsh KC questioned Donaldson about a meeting with Complainant B at the Christian Family Centre in Armoy in the late 1990s.
The court heard the meeting was arranged by Davey Hoy, one of the centre’s founders, after Complainant B had spoken to a pastor about the alleged abuse.
Walsh suggested Donaldson had gone to the meeting because the matter was “something you needed to nip in the bud”.
Donaldson rejected that.
“That’s not true,” he said. “He didn’t say ‘you need to get up to Armoy as there are serious issues to deal with’. I was not worried about going. I went willingly.”
He repeatedly denied that he knew the meeting was about allegations against him.
Complainant B has previously told the court that Donaldson apologised to her at the meeting. Donaldson’s account is different. He said any apology was not an admission, but was intended to express regret if he had ever made her feel “uncomfortable” around him.
“If the suggestion is that what I was apologising for is that someone had said there were allegations, that is not the case,” he told the court.
“She had become a Christian and wanted to move forward... I responded to that.”
Donaldson denies taking control of the meeting
Donaldson said no allegations were raised during the meeting, which he described as brief. He said Davey Hoy and his wife, Linda Hoy, were also present, and that he and Complainant B embraced at the end.
The court had earlier heard evidence from the Hoys. Linda Hoy told the court that Complainant B cried during the meeting when she said she forgave Donaldson.
Walsh asked why Complainant B would have cried if, as Donaldson had described it, the meeting was a “positive experience”.
“I remember talking with her, I don’t remember the tears, I remember we embraced at the end of the meeting… maybe when I left there were tears, I don’t know,” he said.
Walsh put it to Donaldson that he had “took control” of the meeting.
“You went in there and immediately said that you knew what all this was about and that you were truly sorry,” she said.
Donaldson denied that account.
“I didn’t take control of that meeting, I did not march into that meeting and say ‘OK I know what this is about’,” he said.
Questions over earlier disclosures
Walsh also asked Donaldson about evidence previously given in court that Complainant B had disclosed allegations to Claire Selfridge, the Hoys’ daughter, when both women were teenagers.
Asked whether Complainant B had lied to Selfridge, Donaldson said he was “not aware of the meeting” and “was not aware of what happened”.
Walsh then asked whether Complainant B had also lied to Christian pastor Stephen Matthews. The court had previously heard that Complainant B told Matthews she had been sexually abused.
“Yes. The allegations she has made are untrue, as I have said repeatedly,” Donaldson replied.
Later in his evidence, Donaldson said he did not know why the two complainants had gone to police at the same time. He again said their allegations were “untrue”.
Walsh also questioned him about Complainant A, asking whether the reason he had been able to comment on the size of her breasts was because he had touched them.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
The charges Donaldson and his wife deny
Donaldson denies acts of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A when she was a child, between 1999 and 2008.
He also denies further alleged offences dating back to 1985 involving Complainant B, including a charge of rape.
His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, denies five charges of aiding and abetting his alleged offending.
Lady Donaldson is not taking part in the proceedings after being found unfit to face a conventional trial on mental health grounds. She is instead facing a trial of the facts, a process used when a defendant cannot participate in the usual way but the court still considers whether the alleged acts occurred.
The trial is continuing at Newry Crown Court.
