A Russian man was sentenced to 4 years in prison Friday for assaulting a girl in London in an attack that was witnessed on a video call and reported to the police by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son, Barron.
Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, was convicted by a jury on Jan. 28 of assault with bodily harm but was acquitted of rape and choking charges. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice because he sent the lady a letter from jail asking her to retract her allegations, the Associated Press reports.
During his sentencing remarks at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London, Justice Joel Bennathan said Rumiantsev was “totally unrepentant” and a “man given to jealousy.”
“Your lack of insight and empathy was apparent at trial,” the judge said. “You proceed to try accountable the complainant for all the things that has happened.”
Throughout the attack, Trump, 20, was on a FaceTime video call with a girl, who’s entitled to anonymity under U.K. law, when he said he saw a person repeatedly punch her, the Snaresbrook Court Crown in London was told in January.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.
Rumiantsev denied the allegations and told the court that he became upset when he accused the lady of calling Trump “sweetheart.”
A transcript of an emergency call released by the Crown Prosecution Service revealed Trump’s call to emergency services in regards to the alleged assault.
“I’m calling from the U.S., I just got a call from a woman, you realize, she’s getting beat up,” Trump said in a transcript released by prosecutors.
“This was happening about eight minutes ago,” he continued. “I just found out the right way to, the right way to call someone. It’s really an emergency.”
When the operator asked Trump how he witnessed the alleged assault, he said: “Uh, I got a call from her with a man beating her up.”
The operator asked: “How do you realize her?”
“I don’t think these details matter, she’s getting beat up, but OK positive, also I met her on social media. I don’t think that matters,” he said.
The operator asked Trump to “stop being rude” and “actually answer my questions.”
“If you ought to help the person, you’ll answer my questions clearly and precisely,” the operator said.
After telling the operator that he didn’t know the name of the person allegedly assaulting the lady, Trump said, “Sorry for being rude.”
Police went to the address and arrested Rumiantsev, a receptionist who lived in London.
Rumiantsev testified that he was jealous of Trump but that he also felt badly for him because he thought that his girlfriend was leading him on.
Throughout the trial, defence lawyer Sasha Wass said that Trump didn’t know the lady had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have seen in five or seven seconds of video. She said the lady had exploited her ties to Trump to make her boyfriend envious in a “relationship stuffed with dramas.”
Trump didn’t testify within the case however the judge praised him for contacting police and helping prevent something worse. He said the victim feared she was about to be killed.
“Mr. Trump properly and responsibly, despite being in the US, made sure the emergency services here were called, and he told them what he had seen,” he said.
The girl also told the court that Trump’s call to police had helped stop Rumiantsev from killing her.
“He helped save my life. That decision was like an indication from God at that moment,” she said, in accordance with the court transcript.
— with files from The Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.