Man of the church: How Jeffrey Donaldson weaponised his faith to cover up sexual abuse

W hen Jeffrey Donaldson swore on the Bible that he would tell “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” during his trial for child sex offences, he did not hold it in one hand like most defendants. Instead, Donaldson took it in both hands; he placed the book on the flat, open palm of his left hand and set his right on top of it, as if to emphasise its centrality in his life. “He thought, this is going to look good, I’m going to look good ... to the jury,” says independent child safeguarding expert Ian Elliott. “It’s a dreadful example of someone who puts themselves forward as being this great Christian man, highly principled, and then totally ignores the teachings of the Bible. “He’s just a dishonest person who has behaved appallingly and is now going to be held accountable for it.” This week Donaldson (63) was found guilty of 18 child sex offences , including rape, committed against two women when they were children over a more than 20-year period. The former DUP leader, MP and knight of the realm is now a convicted criminal and a registered sex offender. Throughout his trial, as throughout his political career, Donaldson presented himself as a man of deep faith. In the dock of Newry Crown Court, he wore on his lapel a fish-shaped pin announcing his Christian beliefs, while the trial heard he wrote a letter of “apology” to one of his victims describing himself as a “sinner” who was in a “deep pit of sin”. Asked to explain his language by defence barrister, Kieran Vaughan, Donaldson replied: “We’re all sinners, Mr Vaughan. I am a sinner every day ... we seek God’s forgiveness.” I told [Jeffrey Donaldson] about my abuse and rape ... how dare he put his filthy arms around me and tell me he would support me in any way’? — Sexual abuse survivor For Elliott, who has reviewed the handling of abuse allegations by multiple faiths and denominations, including the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, this is a pattern he has “seen many times” before. “Quite often people use the fact that the abuse has occurred within a religious setting, or that religion is involved, as a way of trying to put pressure on those who have been hurt to try and keep quiet and try and convince them that they will not be listened to, not be heard, if they speak out,” he says. “It’s not in any way unique to Presbyterian, or conservative Protestantism. I’ve had the same situations occur with all of the main denominations ... One case comes to mind of a Catholic priest who basically said to his victims, you can’t speak about this, because if you do, there will be no escaping me, not just in the present life but also in the future life. “That is a misuse and an abuse of your faith and your beliefs. It happens, it happens within churches, and it shouldn’t happen anywhere.” The image Donaldson had carefully constructed over the years was that of a clean-living, evangelical Presbyterian and member of the Orange Order who was involved in church youth work and prayed with other MPs at Westminster. “My approach to politics and leadership is grounded in my Christian faith ... it helps sustain me in the challenges and decisions I face on a daily basis,” he told Premier Christian Radio in 2021. Jeffrey Donaldson: The then DUP leader in Orange Order regalia before a 2022 parade in Belfast to mark the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA He posed as a supporter of victims and survivors of sexual abuse, some of whom contacted solicitor Claire McKeegan, of Belfast-based Phoenix Law, after the verdict. “One said she felt physically sickened by the fact she had shared her story with him,” McKeegan says. “She said, ‘he knew what he had done when he was in those meetings with us. I told him about my abuse and rape ... how dare he put his filthy arms around me and tell me he would support me in any way’?” McKeegan – who has represented multiple victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including at the North’s Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry – has also seen this pattern time and time again, including in religious institutions, schools, and Muckamore hospital for vulnerable adults. “In the political sphere, now we have an instance where we learn that someone in such a position of power was able to run for politics knowing that they had perpetrated this horrendous abuse,” she says. “At the heart of all these scandals lies control and power.” The DUP said the party “never received any complaints about inappropriate and/or criminal behaviour by Jeffrey Donaldson”. [ Jeffrey Donaldson’s downfall leaves the DUP battling a conspiracy theory Opens in new window ] Former colleagues have emphasised how “shocked” they were at his arrest and conviction; their condemnations often delivered in Biblical language – “wicked”, “evil”. A founder member of the DUP and a former party special adviser, Wallace Thompson – himself an evangelical Protestant – knew Donaldson, though “not well”, and regarded him as “a capable politician”. He “had no inkling of anything untoward”. “He did come over to me as somebody who within the DUP was prepared to openly take the stand for Christian values,” says Thompson. “I thought it was good to see a man who was prepared to openly profess his faith, which makes it all the more difficult to deal with now.” In court, prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh put it to Donaldson that there was a “pattern” in the way he “blamed the woman” and repeatedly sought “forgiveness” as a means of “control”. Donaldson was, she said, “using your faith and her faith ... appealing to her faith to get her to forgive you”. When Donaldson learned one of his victims had confided in her minister, the politician WhatsApped him. “I just want to find a way to let them know how sorry I am and to repent before them as I have before the Lord,” Donaldson wrote. The Presbyterian minister told the court he contacted the church’s head of safeguarding when the initial disclosure was made to him in 2022, and the victim subsequently attended a meeting with a church safeguarding officer and a police officer at the church’s headquarters in Belfast before making a formal complaint to police. The minister did not reply to Donaldson’s message. In a statement following Donaldson’s conviction, the Presbyterian Church paid tribute to the victims “for their bravery in coming forward ... we commend them for doing so, and all victims of sexual abuse who have the courage to confront their abusers. “We would encourage any victims of sexual abuse to follow in their example.” In the late 1990s, the elder of the two victims revealed Donaldson’s abuse while at the Christian Family Centre in Armoy, Co Antrim – which helped people with addiction issues from “a Biblical perspective”, the court heard. The centre’s co-founder, David Hoy, arranged a meeting at which Donaldson apologised to her “for what he’d done to me in the past”. His wife Linda Hoy, who was also at the meeting, told the court she had a “very clear” memory of Donaldson saying “I know what this is about. I am truly sorry, please forgive me.” Linda and David Hoy arrive at Newry Crown Court earlier this month. Photograph: Damien Eagers/PA Under cross-examination, the victim – who was only a teenager at the time – explained she became a Christian while at the centre. That was the “faith I had at the time,” she explained. “He had apologised ... [you] forgive and try to get on with your life.” The court also heard Donaldson’s wife Eleanor – who was found guilty in a trial of the facts of five offences, including aiding and abetting Donaldson’s crimes – sent the victim a text message in 2023 through an intermediary, saying she needed her “forgiveness to move forward”. Eleanor Donaldson, wife of Jeffrey Donaldson, leaves Newry courthouse in 2024 after appearing to face charges. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA “This frequently comes up in Christian settings, the importance of forgiveness – you need to forgive your abuser so that you can move on,” says Elliott. “It’s allowing the situation to continue, which gives the perpetrator the option of continuing ... without actually being held accountable. “That’s wrong. If somebody is guilty of abusing a child they should be held accountable, not by the church but ultimately through society, and that’s through the criminal justice system.” The Irish Times asked the Hoys and the Christian Family Centre for comment. The Hoys did not respond but in a statement, the Christian Family Centre expressed its “deep sorrow for how the two women in this case ... have been impacted, and for those similarly affected”. [ Would Jeffrey Donaldson have faced justice if he committed his crimes south of the Border? Opens in new window ] It said the “current management and board of trustees were not party to any events related to this case, which occurred decades ago” and “comprehensive” safeguarding policies and procedures were in place. For Thompson, it is “wake-up call” for evangelical Protestant churches. “Lessons need to be learned. I’m in a smaller denomination, and we do a lot of work on the safeguarding issue, and it’s right and proper that we do.” Elliott – himself a Presbyterian – is “angry and very, very disappointed” about the “misuse of religion” by Donaldson. He is full of admiration for the victims. To go to court, “in itself very demanding, is made 10 times harder if the individual who’s the alleged perpetrator – now the convicted perpetrator – is a person of power and status in society, as Donaldson was. “It’s a tremendous testament to those women that they’ve been able to do that and he has been held accountable.” Donaldson is now in prison and can expect a “lengthy” sentence. Among the few personal items the former MP has taken with him to HMP Maghaberry is a Bible.