In 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 โ€“ 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 emotional in what she was saying," he said.

"She had a very troubled life at that time. Very emotionally disturbed."

He added: "She looked like somebody who had come through the wars, emotionally and mentally."

Matthews said he thought at the time that the complainant should speak to someone who could give her more support, and he referred her to Davey and Linda Hoy, who ran the Christian Family Centre.

Earlier, the jury heard from Claire Selfridge, the daughter of the Hoys.

She had been living at the centre in Armoy when she said Complainant B disclosed allegations to her when they were both in their teens.

She described her shock and horror at being told of the alleged abuse.

"It was almost like a bomb went off. That's what it felt like for me," she said.

Selfridge told the court the complainant was "very troubled".

"I just remember feeling my heart was very raw for her," she said.

"Then I realised when she told me that she had been abused, that this was clearly why she was how she was," she said.

During cross-examination, Sir Jeffrey's barrister Kieran Vaughan put it to the witness that the complainant had never used the word "sexual" to describe her abuse.

To which Selfridge replied: "Correct."

The witness added that the complainant had been "matter of fact" in telling her of the alleged abuse.

The court then heard evidence from Selfridge's parents who founded and ran the Christian Family Centre.

Davey Hoy said Matthews phoned him to tell him that Complainant B had made "an allegation" and said it was against Sir Jeffrey but did not go into any further details.

"I knew it was serious but I did not really know what the nature of the allegations was," he added.

He said Complainant B wanted to meet Sir Jeffrey and "wanted a safe place to do that".

Davey Hoy said he then met  Sir Jeffrey at the Dunadry Inn.

He said the meeting was "very brief" and that he told Sir Jeffrey there had been "an allegation" by Complainant B and she wanted "to meet him face to face".

A meeting was arranged for the next day involving Complainant B and Sir Jeffrey at the Hoys' home.

"I remember showing Mr Donaldson into the room and Complainant B was sitting with Linda," Davey Hoy said.

"He [Sir Jeffrey] said: 'I know what this is about, I am sorry and will you please forgive me.'

"Complainant B was upset, she was crying but she did say she forgave him."

He said he then asked Complainant B if she wanted to "take things any further", meaning, he said, was there a need to call the police, but that Complainant B said no.

Prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh KC asked him if there were any discussions about the allegations.

He replied: "No, not to me."

Vaughan, Sir Jeffrey's barrister, then cross-examined Davey Hoy and asked him if during Complainant B's time at the Christian Family Centre she had ever come to him to say she had been sexually abused.

"No, she did not," he replied.

Vaughan put it to him: "Which she could have done easily, couldn't she?"

Davey Hoy replied: "She could have, yes."

He then asked if allegations had been made at the meeting in his home.

Davey Hoy replied: "None"

Vaughan the said: "I am suggesting that what happened was Complainant B said something to the effect of she had not been comfortable at times... with Jeffrey Donaldson and him saying 'if that is the case I am sorry for that' and apologising."

Davey Hoy replied: "No, I do not remember that.

"It could have been said but I do not recall it."

Linda Hoy then gave an account of the same meeting at her home.

She said Complainant B was with her and she remembered Sir Jeffrey arriving and introducing himself.

"Jeffrey Donaldson said to Complainant B: 'I know what this is about and I am truly sorry please forgive me, will you please forgive me,'" Linda Hoy told the court.

"Complainant B said: 'Yes.'"

Vaughan then cross-examined Linda Hoy.

He asked her: "In all of that time Complainant B stayed with you did she ever make a report to you that she was sexually abused?"

Linda Hoy replied: "Never."

Vaughan then asked her if it was fair to say the meeting had been "not about allegation or accusation but reconciliation".

"There were allegations made and that was why the meeting was made," she replied.

Vaughan said: "Those were not made to Jeffrey Donaldson in front of you."

Linda Hoy replied: "No".

The trial will resume on Monday.

Lady Donaldson faces a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, meaning she is not participating in the proceedings and cannot be convicted.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader, is on trial for 18 sex abuse charges, including one count of rape, all of which he denies.

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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader, is on trial for 18 sex abuse charges, including one count of rape, all of which he denies.

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