Judge warns jurors to treat Barron Trump’s account of alleged attack with ‘caution’
A judge has told jurors to treat Barron Trump’s account of his friend’s alleged attack in London with ‘caution’, as it may be ‘biased’.
US President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, 19, rang UK police after allegedly seeing his friend on a video call being attacked by Matvei Rumiantsev in London on January 18 last year, a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
The court heard the president’s son told a City of London Police operator: ‘I just got a call from a girl… she’s getting beat up.’
Metro was the first to report on the youngest Trump’s involvement in helping call police as his friend was ‘attacked’ while on a video call.
Prosecutors say Rumiantsev, a 22-year-old Russian citizen living in Canary Wharf, was jealous of her friendship with Trump.
Rumiantsev denies assault, actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation, perverting the course of justice and two counts of rape.
On Monday, while giving legal directions to jurors, Mr Justice Bennathan KC said: ‘Barron Trump has not given evidence on oath and been tested in cross-examination.
‘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 complainant) being assaulted, or jumped to this conclusion on the basis of her screams.’
Justice Bennathan added: ‘He might also have been asked whether his perception was biased because he was a close friend with (the complainant).
‘The law allows you to receive and accept hearsay evidence, but you need to be careful because it has not been given on oath and the lawyers have not been able to test, challenge or clarify it by asking questions.
‘Therefore, you can rely on it, but you should be cautious in doing so, consider if it could be mistaken or biased by his friendship with (the complainant), and not convict the defendant mainly in reliance on it.’
Prosecutor Serena Gates, in her closing argument on Monday, said that Rumiantsev was jealous of the woman’s friendship with Trump, perhaps because of his ‘public profile’.
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The court had heard that Rumiantsev and the woman had been drinking together on the evening of January 17, 2025 and into the early hours of the next day.
Rumiantsev has said they had consensual sex twice during that time. The prosecution says Rumiantsev raped, strangled and assaulted the woman that day, including hitting her in the face as he later beat her.
He answered her phone during the alleged beating to a FaceTime call from Trump and turned the screen to the woman who was crying and screaming on the floor, the court heard.
Rumiantsev is accused of one count of rape between January 17 and 18, 2025, and another count between November 1 and 30, 2024.
On Friday, under cross-examination, Rumiantsev was asked if he was jealous of males that the woman might speak to.
He said: ‘What I was really unhappy about was that she was frankly leading him (Barron Trump) on.’
Mr Justice Bennathan KC told Rumiantsev the trial is about whether ‘you attacked her or not’.
Rumiantsev responded, telling the court: ‘I am being portrayed as a jealous person who can lose his temper due to jealousy. I want to just make clear that her actions towards him were wrong, and it was not fair. I was jealous to some extent.’
The trial continues.
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