A Russian man has been jailed for four years for assaulting a woman in an attack which was witnessed on a video call by Donald Trump’s youngest son Barron.
Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, drunkenly beat up the victim when he became jealous of her blossoming friendship with Mr Trump, 19, after she met him through social media.
During the assault, he answered a FaceTime call on her phone from Mr Trump and turned the camera to show her crying on the floor.
In a 999 call to City of London Police on January 18 last year, the US president’s son pleaded for help for the woman, telling the operator: “It’s really an emergency.
“I’m calling from the US, uh I just got a call from a girl, you know, she’s getting beat up.”
The woman herself managed to call 999 after enduring violence lasting an hour, telling the operator: “Please help me, I’m gonna get killed.”
At Snaresbrook Crown Court 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.
“You are a man given to jealousy and you have a temper”, said the judge, before criticising Rumiantsev for being “totally unrepentant” and failing to accept blame for the attack.
“Your lack of insight and empathy was apparent at trial. You continue to try to blame the complainant for everything that has happened.”
He pointed to a letter from Rumiantsev said his actions that night had been “inappropriate”, telling him: “That’s a very long way from you facing up to the simple truth of what happened that night.”
He said the evidence shows Rumiantsev had repeatedly struck the woman over the course of an hour, dragged her by her hair when she tried to seek help, and leaving 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, with a phone call from the police station and a letter to a friend while he was in prison.
Rumiantsev, who lived in Canary Wharf, east London, was convicted at trial of the assault and perverting the course of justice, relating to a letter he sent from prison attempting to persuade the woman to drop her allegations.
The jury acquitted him of two charges of rape, assault, and intentional strangulation.
In a victim impact statement, the woman who was assaulted said she “withdrew from the world entirely” in the aftermath, and said she felt “humiliated, afraid and ashamed”.
She added she is living with “constant terror and uncertainty about the defendant’s release”.
Mr Trump was a key witness in the case, and sent an email to police last May describing the “very brief” sight he had of the assault as it unfolded.
“I didn’t expect her to pick up due to the difference in the time zone to the fact I am in the USA, the phone was answered but not by her, to my dismay,” he wrote.
“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 victim of the attack said she believes Rumiantsev deliberately answered the FaceTime call and showed her crying and screaming on the floor as a form of punishment.
Prosecutor Serena Gates KC said: “She thinks the phone call was answered and the assault shown on video because the defendant wanted an audience.”
The judge praised Mr Trump’s actions, saying he had “properly and responsibly” alerted the emergency services despite being in the US.
Mr Trump grew up in the public eye as the only child of Donald and Melania Trump and was rumoured to be helping his father with his election strategy in 2024.
His older brother Eric Trump told the Press Association in November 2024 that Barron persuaded his father to go on a podcast tour as part of efforts to court Gen Z and millennial voters.
The US president appeared on several podcasts popular among young people, including The Joe Rogan Experience – the biggest podcast in the world – as well as podcasts with internet personalities Theo Von, Logan Paul and Adin Ross.
At trial, Ms Gates said Rumiantsev was jealous of the woman’s friendship with Barron Trump, perhaps because of his “public profile”.
She told jurors to note Mr Trump’s “urgent” and “worried” tone in the call to police.
The court had heard Rumiantsev and the woman had been drinking together on the evening of January 17, 2025 and into the early hours of the next day.
The prosecution said Rumiantsev, who comes from a wealthy family and has martial arts training, assaulted the woman that day, including hitting her in the face.
When he answered her phone during the beating to a FaceTime call from Mr Trump, he turned the screen to the woman who was crying and screaming on the floor.
In his phone call to police, Mr Trump was initially coy about how he knew the woman and when asked he replied: “I mean these details don’t matter, she’s getting beat up.”
After being admonished by the operator for being “rude” and not answering questions, Mr Trump said: “I met her on social media.”
The court heard Rumiantsev became aware of the woman’s friendship with Mr Trump in October 2024, and during questioning at trial he described himself as “jealous to some extent”.
He added: “What I was really unhappy about was that she was frankly leading him (Barron Trump) on.”
In a report from counselling sessions which was handed to the judge, Rumiantsev was said to be “taking responsibility for his own shortcomings”.
The judge said Rumiantsev may be deported from the UK as a consequence of his convictions.
