A former Russian mixed martial arts competitor, marked by his “jealous” demeanor, received a four-year prison sentence on Friday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend during a FaceTime call with Barron Trump, the son of President Trump, in January 2025.
Matvei Rumiantsev faced conviction for the assault earlier this year. During sentencing, a London judge portrayed him as “consumed by jealousy” and “entirely unrepentant,” highlighting his refusal to accept responsibility for his actions.
The 23-year-old was handed a two-year sentence for the assault and an additional two years for attempting to obstruct justice, as he had sent a letter from jail urging the victim to withdraw her allegations.
“Your trial demonstrated a clear absence of insight and empathy,” the judge remarked during sentencing. “You persist in blaming the complainant for all that has transpired.”
The judge ordered the sentences to be served consecutively and noted that Rumiantsev might face deportation from the UK given the severity of his offenses.
The jury acquitted Rumiantsev of charges related to rape and strangulation.
Rumiantsev carried out the sick assault in a drunken rage at his East London apartment after spotting an incoming call from Barron, now 20, on the woman’s phone on Jan.18, 2025, two days before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president.
The woman, who was not identified for legal reasons, and Barron had been speaking after meeting on social media and Rumiantsev claimed she had called the younger Trump her “sweetheart.”
Rumiantsev grabbed the woman’s hair, choked her, called her a “s–t and w—e,” and kicked her in the stomach. During the assault, he answered the first son’s FaceTime call on the woman’s phone and turned the camera to show her crying on the floor.
The victim told Snaresbrook Crown Court that she feared for her life and paid tribute to the president’s son.
“He helped save my life,” she said. “That call was like a sign from God at that moment.”
Barron called London cops after witnessing the woman sobbing on video, telling a police 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 younger Trump later sent over an emailed statement recounting what he saw.
“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 first son’s message read.
“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 5 to 7 seconds.”
The judge also praised Barron while passing sentence on Rumiantsev, saying he “properly and responsibly, despite being in the United States, made sure the emergency services here were called, and he told them what he had seen.”
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.
During the trial, defense lawyer Sasha Wass said that Trump didn’t know the woman had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have seen in 5 or 7 seconds of video. She said the woman had exploited her ties to Trump to make her boyfriend envious in a “relationship full of dramas.”
With Post wires
