2 hours ago
5
A Russian man has been jailed for four years for assaulting a woman in an attack in London that was witnessed on a video call by Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron.
Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, attacked the woman when he became jealous of her friendship with Trump, 19, after she met him through social media, a court heard.
The son of the US president alerted police that he had seen his female friend being attacked by Rumiantsev in London in January 2025 during a FaceTime call, the trial at Snaresbrook crown court was told.
On Friday Rumiantsev – described as a “trained fighter” – was sentenced by Mr Justice Bennathan to four years in prison for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.
Rumiantsev, who lived in Canary Wharf, east London, was found not guilty of one count of rape and intentional strangulation, and another of rape and assault alleged to have occurred in November 2024.
At the trial in January, the court heard that Trump called the woman, who was not named in the trial, on 18 January last year and contacted UK police shortly afterwards.
In a transcript of the emergency call released by the Crown Prosecution Service, Trump said: “I’m calling from the US, uh, I just got a call from a girl, you know, she’s getting beat up.”
Asked by the operator how he knew the woman, Trump said: “I don’t think these details matter, she’s getting beat up but OK fine, also I met her on social media, I don’t think that matters.”
The operator responded: “Can you stop being rude and actually answer my questions?”
Addressing Rumiantsev in his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Bennathan said: “You are a man given to jealousy and you have a temper.” He also said Rumiantsev was “totally unrepentant” and had failed to accept blame for the attack.
The judge said: “Your lack of insight and empathy was apparent at trial. You continue to try to blame the complainant for everything that has happened.”
He said the evidence showed Rumiantsev had repeatedly struck the woman over the course of an hour, dragged her by her hair when she tried to seek help, and left her believing she “might die”.
After his arrest, Rumiantsev made “repeated efforts” to try to avoid justice by convincing the woman to withdraw her allegations, through a phone call from the police station and a letter to a friend while he was in prison.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she “withdrew from the world entirely” in the aftermath of the assault, and felt “humiliated, afraid and ashamed”. She added that she was living with “constant terror and uncertainty about the defendant’s release”.
Rumiantsev’s conviction for perverting the course of justice related to the letter he sent from prison attempting to persuade the woman to drop her allegations.
Trump was a key witness in the case. In an email to police he said: “The individual who picked up the phone was a shirtless man with darkish hair, although I didn’t get a good look, this view lasted maybe one second and I was racing with adrenaline.
“The camera was then flipped to the victim getting hit while crying, stating something in Russian. The guy had hung up. This whole interaction had lasted five to seven seconds.”
The woman said she believed Rumiantsev deliberately answered the FaceTime call and showed her crying and screaming on the floor as a form of punishment.
The judge praised Trump’s actions, saying he had “properly and responsibly” alerted the emergency services despite being in the US.
