Northern Irish politician and DUP leader (2019–2024)
Northern Ireland trials of the facts linked to Jeffrey Donaldson's sex-abuse convictions prompt a government-ordered external review. Eleanor Donaldson faces a potential treatment order or discharge as her own case proceeds. A timetable aims to conclude the review by early 2027.
Former Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty on 18 counts of child sex offences, including rape and indecent assault, involving two victims who were children at the time. His wife, Eleanor, is deemed to have aided and abetted some offences but was found unfit for trial on mental health grounds. Sentencing will follow later this year.
Two high-profile UK actors have been found guilty of multiple sexual offences against women between 2004 and 2019. One case involves a former River City star convicted of rape, with sentencing set for July 23. The other case centers on a Glasgow-based actor also convicted of five offences after trial.
The former DUP leader has been found guilty at Newry Crown Court of 18 historic sexual offences against two women who were children. He has renounced his knighthood and resigned from the Privy Council; state honours are being considered for forfeiture.
Two Independent articles outline the human impact of indefinite IPP detention, showing how uncertainty over sentences and repeated recalls drive despair, with fresh cases prompting calls for urgent reform.
Campaigners say Edwards’s Substack commentary shows a troubling return to public debate around his case, while he says he is trying to rebuild a meaningful life and discuss mental health after pleading guilty in 2024 to possessing indecent images of children.
Conservative MP Patrick Spencer has been found not guilty of two counts of sexual assault after a trial at Southwark Crown Court concerning incidents at the Groucho Club in August 2023. The jury has cleared him; he has maintained innocence and described the proceedings as a test of character.