// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Donaldson jail term poses 'complex challenge' for prison staff'
Jeffrey Donaldson pictured in June arriving at Newry Crown Court
Protecting convicted paedophile Jeffrey Donaldson from harm inside jail will be a "massive risk-management headache" for prison bosses, according to a former governor.
The ex-Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader was given a 15-year sentence on Thursday after being convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse, including rape, against two women when they were children.
Ian Acheson, who spent about a decade working for HM Prison Service, said Donaldson, the former Lagan Valley MP, faced risks from fellow inmates.
Acheson said Donaldson represented a "very complex challenge to the Northern Ireland Prison Service".
Donaldson leaving Newry court in a prison van after being sentenced on Thursday
"There are always hierarchies within prisons - and there are even hierarchies within sex offenders - and the lowest of the low and the most vulnerable in terms of hostility from others are those who've been convicted of sexual violence against a minor."
But he said it would also be necessary to "examine potential political or sectarian targeting" relating to Donaldson's leadership of the DUP and his service in the Ulster Defence Regiment, a former Army unit.
"The prison has a duty of care to protect him and he is uniquely vulnerable," Acheson told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.
"Maghaberry, in previous inspections, has indicated that it operates an integrated regime, where sex offenders can be safely managed in the wider prison community.