Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been warned he is facing a ‘lengthy’ prison term after being found guilty of 18 historical sexual offences against two women when they were children, during a 23-year campaign of abuse.

A letter of apology he wrote to a woman he sexually abused when she was a youngster undermined his claims of innocence, Newry Crown Court was told.

A jury convicted the ex-MP of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault, and four counts of gross indecency. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was found to have aided and abetted his crimes following a trial of the facts.

Donaldson, 63, dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and patterned pink tie, was told he will be sentenced at the same court later in the year and was remanded in custody.

He showed no reaction to the verdicts as he stood with his hands folded in front of him.

Donaldson, first elected to parliament in 1997 and the longest-serving MP in the North, was arrested in 2024 and denied all charges, which spanned a period between 1985 and 2008.

He told police and the jury the allegations made by the women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were ‘unbelievable’ and ‘simply not true’.

But a 2020 letter of apology he wrote to one of the women he abused, begging for her forgiveness, completely undermined his claims of innocence.

‘I know how deep the wounds are caused by my sinful and selfish actions,’ he wrote, adding that he hoped God would ‘lift a sinner out of the deep pit of sin’.

He went on that he regretted ‘hurt, pain and distress’ he had caused. Donaldson claimed in the court that the letter did not refer to sex abuse allegations but other behaviour.

However, a church minister, supporting one of the women, said Donaldson also sent him a WhatsApp message in 2023. In it, he said he wanted to find a way to ‘repent before them as I have before the Lord’.

Complainants A and B both gave evidence at the trial, alleging they were abused as children. Donaldson spent two days giving evidence during the trial, where he repeatedly denied the allegations.

Eleanor Donaldson, 60, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co. Down, denied several charges of aiding and abetting her husband. She faced a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, which tested the evidence but could not result in a criminal conviction.

Current DUP leader Gavin Robinson, who took charge of the party when Donaldson resigned following his initial arrest in 2024, said he welcomed that justice has been done.

‘Today, our thoughts are, first and foremost, with those innocent victims whose lives have been impacted and blighted by his predatory and repugnant behaviour,’ he told a press conference in east Belfast.

Mr Robinson added his voice to those calling for Donaldson to be stripped of his knighthood.

The jury in Newry was brought back into the courtroom after lunch yesterday after deliberating for just over ten hours. At 2.15pm, Donaldson was asked to stand as the court clerk asked the foreman of the jury to read the verdicts.

After the verdicts were delivered, Judge Paul Ramsey expressed his ‘gratitude and thanks’ to the jury. Prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh KC then confirmed that victim impact statements would be prepared ahead of sentencing.

The judge said a custodial sentence was inevitable, stating it would be ‘lengthy’.

Donaldson was remanded into custody and showed no emotion as he was led from the court. There will be a review hearing on September 11 before a pre-sentencing hearing on September 25 at the same court.

The judge also said Donaldson would be placed on the sex offender register.

During the trial, Complainant A gave evidence of inappropriate touching and kissing by Donaldson and an incident where he used a light to examine her genitals.

Complainant B told the trial she had been raped as a child of primary school age by Donaldson and later sexually assaulted by him.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane has said his thoughts are with the victims following the conviction.

Speaking to media at Parliament Buildings in Stormont, Mr Finucane said: ‘This can’t be easy and they deserve our continued support in the time ahead.’

Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows said: ‘These are among the gravest crimes imaginable, committed against the most vulnerable by a man who spent his career demanding the public’s trust.

I want to pay tribute to the brave women who gave evidence against Jeffrey Donaldson about the abuse he inflicted on them.

‘Their ordeal has been unimaginable. ‘The fact that Donaldson showed no remorse and called his victims liars is reprehensible.’

A spokesperson for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Northern Ireland commented: ‘As a public figure, Jeffrey Donaldson held a position of trust in the community, but he grossly betrayed this by repeatedly sexually abusing two girls, while his wife Eleanor was aware but failed to act.’

Reporting by Jonathan McCambridge and Martin Robinson