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Lady Donaldson 'aware' of alleged sex abuse incident involving bright light, court hears

Lyndsey TelfordBBC News NI, at Newry Crown Court
News imagePA Media A woman with short cropped grey hair and is wearing a black polo neck top, and a black coat with a hood. She is standing outside, the background is out of focus but the outline of several vehicles can be seen as well as the partial body of someone in a hi-viz jacketPA Media
Lady Donaldson, pictured here in February 2025, is facing a trial of facts on five charges of aiding and abetting

The jury in the sex abuse trial of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has heard claims from one of the alleged victims that the accused's wife was made aware of an alleged incident involving a bright light being shone on her private parts.

During cross-examination of the younger of the two alleged victims, known as Complainant A, Lady Eleanor Donaldson's barrister said his client had "raised the matter" with Sir Jeffrey.

The complainant had been referring to an alleged encounter in which she claimed Sir Jeffrey used a bright light, possibly a torch, to look at her genital area.

Sir Jeffrey, a former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), denies 18 sex abuse charges, including one count of rape.

Lady Donaldson denies five charges related to aiding and abetting.

She faces a trial of the facts after she was previously deemed unfit to face a conventional trial on mental health grounds, and is therefore not participating in proceedings.

The jury at Newry Crown Court heard claims that Complainant A told Lady Donaldson about the alleged incident involving a bright light.

The complainant said Lady Donaldson later raised the issue with her "to ask if I was telling the truth".

She said: "I knew by the look on her face she knew I was telling the truth.

"Why would I make something like that up? I had no motive. Once she identified I was telling the truth, she did nothing about it."

Lady Donaldson's barrister Ian Turkington KC put it to the complainant that Lady Donaldson did ask Sir Jeffrey about the alleged incident.

Complainant A claimed she also informed Lady Donaldson of a separate alleged incident in which she said Sir Jeffrey kissed her.

She said she told Lady Donaldson that Sir Jeffrey had "put his tongue in my mouth" and "moved his tongue around my mouth".

The complainant said the matter was "laughed off" by both the defendants as "just a joke".

"I can guarantee you I was not laughing at all," the complainant said.

Sir Jeffrey denies acts of gross indecency and indecent assault against Complainant A when she was a child, between 1999 and 2008.

Other alleged offences, dating back to 1985, including a charge of rape, relate to a second woman, Complainant B, when she was also a child.

The trial continues.