A man accused of rape denies anger over a call from Barron Trump, court hears
A man accused of raping a woman in London denied he was angry when she received a call from Donald Trump's son, a court has heard. The man, Matvei Rumiantsev, a 22-year-old Russian citizen from east London, is accused of assault and two counts of rape, among other charges. He denies all charges.
During the trial, Rumiantsev was questioned about his reaction to a FaceTime call from Barron Trump, the youngest son of the US president. He denied being angry, but admitted to feeling jealous. When pressed, he explained that he was "quite used to her receiving calls" and didn't attach much importance to it.
"I wasn't angry, but I'll be honest, I was quite exhausted," he said. Rumiantsev also revealed that the woman was in a "hysterical state" when Trump called. During the exchange, he attempted to make her understand that her actions were wrong.
The defendant allegedly raped the woman after noticing several missed calls from Trump on her phone throughout the day. He became "furious" when he saw Trump calling her in the early hours of January 18, 2025, and answered the call, attacking her while Trump watched on FaceTime. A video was shown to the jurors, depicting the alleged victim crying on the floor, with the defendant standing and asking her in Russian, "Do you understand?"
Rumiantsev explained that the expression was meant to convey that her actions were unreasonable. He added, "Maybe that's why I answered the call [from Barron Trump]. I probably wouldn't behave like that in front of other people, especially Barron Trump."
The court had previously reviewed a transcript of the emergency call, where Trump informed the operator that he had met the alleged victim on social media. Barron Trump also mentioned in an email to the police that he didn't expect her to pick up due to the time difference.
