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Detective Identified Politician as Suspect Year Before Abuse Complaint
A BBC investigation reports that a police detective and church safeguarding officer suspected Jeffrey Donaldson of child abuse after a 2023 meeting with a victim. The suspicion was not passed to senior police leadership at the time. Donaldson was convicted of 18 sex abuse charges earlier this month and awaits sentencing.
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A police detective and a child safeguarding expert identified Jeffrey Donaldson as a possible abuser after speaking with a victim in March 2023, according to a BBC investigation. The meeting took place at Presbyterian Church in Ireland headquarters.
The victim, identified in court as Complainant A, did not name her abuser during the session. The detective and safeguarding officer later concluded the description matched Donaldson.
Montgomery-Devlin, the church's head of safeguarding at the time, told the BBC that both she and the detective believed the victim was describing a high-profile person. She said the detective later confirmed the identity as Donaldson. A former senior police officer told the BBC that such information should have been treated as intelligence and passed to the chief constable.
A and Complainant B formally named Donaldson to police in March 2024. The Police Service of Northern Ireland stated it conducted a thorough investigation but declined further comment due to ongoing legal proceedings. Donaldson was convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse, including one count of rape, earlier this month.
He remains in custody and will be sentenced later this year. His wife was also found to have committed the acts alleged in five related charges.
