Jeffrey Donaldson's wife Eleanor placed on sex offenders' register after his rape conviction

Eleanor Donaldson, the wife of disgraced former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, has been placed on the sex offenders' register.

Her husband, 63, was convicted at Newry Crown Court in June of 18 sex offences, including one count of rape, relating to the abuse of two women when they were children.

Eleanor was found to have aided and abetted her husband's offending, but only faced a trial of the facts after she was found unfit for a conventional trial on mental health grounds.

On Friday she was placed on the sex offenders' register for five years and given a three-year supervision and treatment order.

The 60-year-old, from Dromore, County Down, appeared briefly via videolink at the end of proceedings so Judge Paul Ramsey could explain the court order to her.

Her husband was sentenced to 15 years in prison last month.

The offences were committed between 1985 and 2008.

At the trial, his two victims - referred to in court as Complainant A and Complainant B - offered accounts of the abuse, which started when they were both of primary school age.

Donaldson, once one of Northern Ireland's best-known politicians, had "robbed them both of their childhood and innocence" police said after his trial.

During a police interview, Eleanor told officers that the allegations came as a "massive, massive shock".

Asked about the rape, she responded: "I would say that didn't happen. Absolutely not, oh my goodness."

She did not attend the court proceedings throughout the trial but was represented by a legal team.

The jury found she had done the acts in relation to a number of charges of aiding and abetting her husband's crimes, but she could not be found guilty or sent to prison.

Both victims were in court for today's proceedings and heard prosecuting barrister Rosemary Walsh KC set out the facts of the case and the impact it had had on them.

"Pain permeated" through the statements from both victims, she said.

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Judge Ramsey told Eleanor Donaldson she would be under the supervision of a social worker from the Craigavon Community Mental Health Team for three years.

This would include her attending appointments, undergoing treatment and allowing the social worker to visit her at home.

She is appealing against the jury verdicts, while her husband is appealing against his convictions.

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