By Ginika Igboke
A crime that spanned three countries—committed in London by a Russian suspect, witnessed remotely from the United States, and reported by the youngest son of U.S. President Donald Trump—ended Wednesday with a criminal conviction in a British court.
Barron Trump alerted London police more than a year ago after witnessing an apparent assault during a video call, an intervention that ultimately led to the conviction of Matvei Rumiantsev. Rumiantsev admitted he acted out of jealousy over his girlfriend’s friendship with Trump.
According to court records, Trump placed a late-night FaceTime call to a woman he had met on social media. The call was unexpectedly answered by a bare-chested man.
“This view lasted maybe one second and I was racing with adrenaline,” Trump told police. “The camera was then flipped to the victim getting hit while crying, stating something in Russian.”
The call ended moments later. Trump then contacted London’s emergency services, urgently requesting help as a dispatcher pressed him for details about the victim.
“How do you know her?” the operator asked after several exchanges.
“I don’t think these details matter, she’s getting beat up,” Trump responded.
The dispatcher insisted Trump answer clearly, emphasizing the need for basic information to assist the victim. Police were dispatched to the address on Jan. 18 and arrested Rumiantsev, then 22, a receptionist living in London.
At Snaresbrook Crown Court, Rumiantsev was acquitted of charges including rape and choking related to the night of the incident, as well as an additional rape and assault alleged in November 2024. However, the jury convicted him of assault and of perverting the course of justice after evidence showed he sent a letter from jail asking the woman to retract her allegations.
Rumiantsev testified that he was jealous of Trump but said he also felt sympathy for him, believing his girlfriend had misled Trump about the nature of their relationship.
Defense attorney Sasha Wass argued that Trump did not know the woman had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have observed during just a few seconds of video. She described the relationship as “full of dramas,” suggesting the woman used her connection to Trump to provoke jealousy.
Barron Trump, now 19 and the only child of Donald and Melania Trump, did not testify at trial.
Before deliberations, Justice Bennathan instructed jurors to treat Trump’s statements—made in his emergency call and a follow-up email to investigators—with caution, noting that he had not been cross-examined.
“If he had done so, no doubt, he could have been asked about things such as whether he ever got a good view of what happened, whether he actually saw [the woman] being assaulted, or jumped to this conclusion on the basis of her screams,” the judge said. He added that jurors might also have considered whether Trump’s perception was influenced by his friendship with the woman.
Rumiantsev is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27.
Original article
Comments