The crime occurred in London, the suspect was Russian, and the witness who witnessed the beating in a video call was in the United States and turned out to be the youngest son of the American president Donald Trump. Barron Trump called the police of the British capital and his intervention more than a year ago led on Wednesday to the conviction for assault of Matvei Rumiantsev, who admitted to being jealous of his girlfriend’s friendship with Trump. Trump claimed to have made a FaceTime call late at night with the victim, a woman he met on social media, and was startled to be answered by a shirtless man.
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“This image lasted perhaps a second and the adrenaline burned me”, Trump declared to the police. “Then, the camera focused on the victim as she was being beaten while crying and saying something in Russian”. The call was cut off after a few seconds and Trump called the London police in a recording in which he desperately pleaded for help while the operator insisted that he answer basic questions about the victim. “¿How do you know her?”, the operator asked after an exchange of messages. “I don’t think these details matter, they’re hitting her“, said Trump. “Can you stop being rude and answer my questions?”, asked the operator. “If you want to help the person, you will answer my questions clearly and precisely, thank you. How do you know her?”. The police went to the address on January 18 and arrested Rumiantsev, 22 years old, a receptionist residing in London. He was acquitted at Snaresbrook Crown Court of rape and strangulation of the woman the night Trump called the police, and of an additional rape and assault alleged in November 2024. Rumiantsev testified that he was jealous of Trump, but that he also felt sorry for him because he believed his girlfriend was cheating on him.You can also read: Meet Melania Trump, the former model who will be First Lady of the USA for the second time
Defense lawyer Sasha Wass said Trump did not know the woman had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have seen in five or seven seconds of video. Wass stated that the woman took advantage of her relationship with Trump to generate envy in her boyfriend in a “relationship full of dramas”. Trump, 19 years old, only son of Donald and Melania Trump, did not testify in the case. Judge Bennathan advised the jury, before they began deliberating, to treat with caution the statements of Barron Trump — regarding the recording of his call to the police and his follow-up email to the investigators — as he had not been cross-examined. “If he had done it, he could certainly have been asked about issues such as whether he ever saw what happened, whether he really saw how she was assaulted (the woman) or whether he came to that conclusion based on her screams,” Bennathan stated. “He could also have been asked if his perception was biased by being a close friend of hers.” Rumiantsev was also convicted of malfeasance, as he sent the woman a letter from prison asking her to retract her accusations. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27.
