Committal hearing for Donaldson historical sex charge case set for July 3rd

A hearing to establish whether there is sufficient evidence to send former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to trial on historical sex charges will take place on July 3rd, a judge has confirmed.

The timing of the committal proceedings, known as a preliminary enquiry (PE), was fixed when the case against Donaldson and his co-accused, his wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson, was briefly mentioned at Newry Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Neither of the accused was in court for the short hearing but both will have to appear in person on July 3rd.

Lawyers for both accused, and a barrister for the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service, all confirmed to District Judge Eamonn King that they would be ready for the committal proceedings to be heard on July 3rd.

It has already been confirmed that Donaldson, who was the long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, is not running for re-election in the UK General Election the following day.

The 61-year-old was arrested and charged in relation to the…

We’ve summarized this news for a quick read. If you’re interested, you can read the full article here:

Breakingnews.ie