Man accused of rape says woman’s phone messages to Donald Trump’s son upset him
The Russian man accused of rape denied “controlling” but told jurors he was disturbed by the woman texting Donald Trump’s youngest son.
Matvei Rumiantsev, 22, is on trial at London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court, where he is charged with assault and two counts of rape, among other charges, against the alleged victim, who jurors heard was friends with Barron Trump.
The defendant later said he regretted his behavior but denied all six charges.
Testifying on Thursday, Mr. Rumiantsev said he became aware of the woman’s friendship with the 19-year-old Mr. Trump in October 2024 while he was on vacation.
A Russian citizen living in London told the court: [the alleged victim] He came up to me in his hotel room and asked me to take a photo of his phone where he was chatting with Barron Trump.
“The conversation they were having didn’t allow him to take screenshots, so he came up to me and asked me to take a photo with my phone.”
Jurors heard that on November 3, 2024, Mr Rumiantsev and the alleged victim argued in his flat and left the flat after damaging Mr Rumiantsev’s deep fryer and dropping the kettle.
After leaving, he said, he received phone calls and text messages from the alleged victim, which made him concerned for her well-being, so he called the police.
Jurors heard the woman tell officers in body-worn footage after police arrived: “It was like jealousy, it was like controlling who I could be friends with.”
When asked by his lawyer Sasha Wass KC whether this was related to the son of the US president, the defendant said that it was.
Wearing a blue suit and white shirt on the witness stand, Mr. Rumiantsev told jurors that earlier that evening, the alleged victim brought up Mr. Trump and began showing him his messages with the 19-year-old.
“I started telling Barron that I, too, was upset about his conversation with Trump,” he said.
“I wasn’t controlling it at all, but I was trying to tell him that if he wasn’t feeling well when he saw my texts with girls 10 years ago, he could understand how I felt right now, sitting there texting someone else.”
The court heard that later the same day Mr Rumiantsev sent the alleged victim a text in Russian translated into English: “I really can’t believe what I’ve caused.
“This is just nonsense.
“I acted like an asshole. I was so embarrassed because I took your phone and you started calling her honey. I felt so bad.”
When asked who “he” was, Mr. Rumiantsev said: “Barron Trump.”
Jurors heard Mr Rumiantsev and the woman had been drinking together on the evening of January 17, 2025, and into the early hours of the next day.
Mr. Rumiantsev said they had consensual sex twice during this time.
Testifying on Thursday, the defendant told jurors that the woman was in a “full breakdown” phase, partly because she had been drinking, before answering a call from the US president’s son on the alleged victim’s phone.
“He was crying, screaming, yelling at me, completely hysterical,” said Mr. Rumiantsev, who was wearing a blue suit and white shirt on the dock.
“I noticed his phone next to me on the couch was ringing with a Barron Trump face call,” the defendant told the court.
“I don’t know what was going through my mind, but I answered yes.
“At that point I stood up, moved maybe a few feet away from him… I answered the call and immediately pointed the camera at him. I don’t know why I did that.”
“I thought maybe he would realize that his behavior was irrational and wouldn’t act like that in front of anyone else.”
Mr Rumiantsev denies charges of assault, actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation, defeating the course of justice and two counts of rape, made between 1 November 2024 and 23 January 2025.
The trial continues.
