TWO COMPLAINANTS WHO have accused former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson of sexual offences are not “sufficiently reliable enough” for the jury to find him guilty, a barrister has told a court.
Donaldson’s barrister Kieran Vaughan KC also told the jury to “ignore the noise and focus on the evidence” when they consider their verdicts.
Donaldson (63) has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences.
The charges include one count of rape and allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency, and span a period between 1985 and 2008 involving two alleged victims.
Complainants A and B have both given evidence at the trial.
This morning, Vaughan continued his closing speech by dealing with allegations made by Complainant A against Donaldson.
He pointed to one occasion where Donaldson is accused of using a light, possibly a torch, to look at her genital area.
Vaughan said this was “effectively a misunderstanding” and that the complainant was “troubled and suffering nightmares”.
Vaughan added that this incident “effectively led to the other allegations” and that the complainant has “proven herself to be very, very unreliable witness”.
Vaughan added: “I don’t say that lightly.”
“No matter how many times she tells you she is speaking the truth, it doesn’t make it the truth,” said Vaughan.
He said the complainant had stated that “things were ‘foggy’ and her memory was really poor, very bad”.
Vaughan also pointed to a letter that Donaldson sent to Complainant A in 2020.
He said that the letter written was not an apology for sexual abuse but was related to a different matter.
Meanwhile, Vaughan said that an allegation of Donaldson touching Complainant A on “her chest, skin to skin” is not credible.
Complainant A said this happened “over period of time” but that she can remember one alleged incident in particular when Eleanor Donaldson entered the room.
“It really does lack any semblance of credibility,” said Vaughan.
He said Complainant A said Eleanor could see this happen but then put this claim “in reverse” the next day.
“She is a witness capable of saying a terrible untruth one day and then reversing it the next,” said Vaughan, who added that this is “not a witness you can rely on”.
Then turning to a claim that Jeffrey Donaldson had confessed to sexually abusing the alleged victim during a face to face meeting in 2021, Vaughan said this “just didn’t happen”.
Vaughan claimed that the complainant was “someone capable of leaving things out of her account to suit her own ends”.
He also called on the jury to consider that both complainants “met before they gave police interviews and both went in March, separately but on same days”.
Vaughan said the “clear sentiment” was to “bolster each other and one another”.
“Ignore the noise, focus on the evidence, and when you focus on the evidence, you will see that there are significant and fundamental issues with each of these complainants,” said Vaughan.
“If that is right, or might be right, then he’s entitled to be found not guilty of all allegations.”
After a short break, the jury heard the closing speech from Eleanor Donaldson’s barrister, Ian Turkington KC.
Eleanor Donaldson (60) from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.
She is facing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds.
The trial of the facts will test the evidence in the case but cannot result in a criminal conviction.
He said that the jury must not “hold against her” the fact that she has been determined unfit to stand trial.
“Remember, she has not chosen to be here,” said Turkington.
“She is simply so unwell that she cannot participate in trial process.”
He said the jury has seen her police interviews and that “she passed that test with flying colours”.
He said that a “big problem for the prosecution” is the delay in coming forward with the allegations.
“How reliable is your memory 30 or 40 years ago? I bet that memory doesn’t improve with the passage of time.”
He then told the jury that there are “a few traps you should be careful not to fall into”.
Turkington then said “false allegations are pedalled in court every day” and that there are many motivations behind false allegations.
He said it was “simply impossible” to be “sure that the prosecution have proved their case beyond reasonable doubt”.
Turkington told the jury: “You can bring an end to this nightmare for Eleanor Donaldson and do so by returning verdicts she did not do the acts alleged.”
He added that this was the “only true verdict” that could be returned.
Tomorrow morning, Judge Paul Ramsey is expected to sum up the case for the jury and once they have been given legal directions, jury deliberations will begin.
“You have heard all the evidence, you haven’t heard my summing up, and that will be the conclusion of what you hear,” said Judge Ramsey.
“I would ask you therefore not to discuss this case outside of court and to be careful of the internet and social media.”