Donaldson will also be required to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The former Lagan Valley MP has been in Maghaberry Prison since then and returned to it on Thursday afternoon after being sentenced.

Donaldson spends up to 18 hours a day in his cell at the prison, which holds around 1,600 inmates.

Since being convicted, he has been held in its Moyola Unit, a part of the jail used for prisoners with health care needs, and does not share a cell.

It is thought he is in this unit for his own safety from risk of attack or verbal abuse from other prisoners.

Judge Ramsey said aggravating features include the length and protracted nature of the offending spanning many years.

He also took into account the youth of the victims and the age difference between them and Donaldson, adding that he could not accept Donaldson's lack of other convictions as a mitigating factor.

The judge said by contesting a case, a defendant avoids the reduction in sentence they would have got if they had pleaded guilty.

"It is highly significant that the defendant denied the offences to the police, he denied them in evidence and to the probation officer he continues to maintain his denials," the judge said.

"He has doubled-down in his denials.

"There has not been, and doubtless will not be, one word of regret, apology or shame from this man to at least provide his victims with some crumb of comfort."

Statements from both victims were released after the sentencing and read out by Det Ch Insp Leah Crothers.

Victim A said the impact of the crimes committed against her did not end when the abuse ended.

"For years I carried shame, anger and guilt, and questioned whether I was worth protecting or worthy of being loved.

"The last few years have been nothing short of a battle.

"The conviction does not erase the abuse or undo the impact of what happened to me, and I will always carry the consequences of it.

"But those responsible do not control me now. They forever changed me, but they will not take my future. The cycle is being broken and it ends with me."

Victim B said what happened to her as a child had "affected everything since then".

"What would it be like not to be afraid at night, not to wake up shaking, not to have nightmares and not to lock away every feeling I have?

"What happened took away my ability to trust people and, in all honesty, I don't think I really know what trust or love truly is. Nothing can ever change what was done to me. I wish it could.

"I stood up, many years later, because for me this is about drawing a line in the sand and knowing that the Donaldsons can no longer hurt anyone else.

"Many people get to look ahead and plan their lives with hope, I've never known what that feels like. My hope was taken away from me a long time ago."

Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt