Russian National Found Guilty of Assault and Obstruction Following Violent Incident Witnessed by Barron Trump Over Video Call
A London court has convicted Matvei Rumiantsev, a 22-year-old Russian national, of assault and perverting the course of justice after an episode that came to light when Barron Trump, the 19-year-old son of U.S. President
Donald Trump, alerted British police last year.
The case unfolded after Barron, who was in the United States at the time, received a video call from a woman he had met online and witnessed part of a violent attack on her in a London flat in January two thousand twenty-five.
He contacted City of London Police by telephone, reporting that the woman was “getting beaten up,” and provided emergency services with her address, helping prompt a police response.
Jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court deliberated over charges including alleged sexual offences and strangulation, but ultimately found Rumiantsev guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The latter charge related to his conduct after arrest, when he sought to influence the woman to withdraw her complaint, including by sending her a letter from custody.
He was acquitted of multiple counts of rape and intentional choking connected to both the January incident and earlier allegations from November two thousand twenty-four.
Rumiantsev is expected to be sentenced on March twenty-seventh.
Evidence during the trial included a transcript of the emergency call placed by Barron Trump and testimony from the woman, who credited the alert with helping save her life.
However, the judge instructed jurors to assess Barron’s account with caution because he did not testify under oath or face cross-examination.
Defence lawyers had argued that the woman’s account was influenced by her personal connections and that the evidence of what Barron saw during the brief video call was limited.
The case has drawn international attention due to his involvement and highlights the challenges of remote eyewitness reporting in criminal investigations.
The conviction marks a significant outcome in a complex legal proceeding that has intertwined international public interest with serious questions about domestic violence and accountability.
Sentencing will determine the penalties Rumiantsev faces for the offences he has been found guilty of.