Donaldson trial hears pastor say it was 'obvious' who alleged abuser was

Donaldson trial hears pastor say it was 'obvious' who alleged abuser was2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLyndsey TelfordBBC News NIPA MediaSir Jeffrey Donaldson arriving at Newry Crown Court on FridayIn a police interview shown at the Sir Jeffrey Donaldson sex abuse trial, a Christian pastor said that one of the two alleged victims told him she could not tell anyone about the abuse because it would "destroy their political reputation".Pastor Stephen Matthews described how the woman, known in the trial as Complainant B, told him she had been sexually abused when she was very young.Sir Jeffrey denies 18 sex abuse charges. His wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson denies five charges related to aiding and abetting.The pastor said he could not remember clearly whether or not the complainant named her alleged abuser during their conversation in the 1990s, but that it became "obvious" to him."She had said he was rising through the ranks of the Official Unionist Party," he said."He had been the assistant to a previous MP and as such would be in line to become an MP."He added: "There was only one person – it was Sir Jeffrey Donaldson as he is today."Sir Jeffrey, a former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), was previously an MP for the Ulster Unionist Party, sometimes known as the Official Unionist Party.Matthews told police he had been visiting the Christian Family Centre in Armoy with a youth group when he was approached by Complainant B, then in her teens."She was very, very emotionally disturbed," he said in his achieving best evidence, or ABE, interview with police."I spent time with her, I prayed with her, then she said she wanted to talk about something."He said before the complainant went further, she told him she didn't want anyone to know about it.Matthews said he listened to her and she relayed "very, very serious allegations"."She was very, very emoti...