A woman who claims to be Madeleine McCann has been found guilty of domestic violence – nationally
The Polish woman who claimed Madeleine McCann, the British girl who disappeared in 2007 while on a family holiday in Portugal, has been found guilty of abusing the missing girl’s family.
Julia Wandel, also known as Julia Wandelt, first claimed to be McCann in 2023 when she posted several pieces of “evidence” on social media, most of which compared similar physical characteristics between her and McCann.
Wandel flew from Poland to England and drove to the McCanns’ home, where he demanded he submit to a DNA test in December 2024.
In February, Wandel was arrested and accused of breaking into the McCann family by contacting them unsolicited at the McCann family home – Amelie, it was said in 2025.
On Friday, a jury at Leicester Crown Court in England found Whendel convincingly guilty of stabbing, but guilty of torture. He was sentenced to six months in prison by Justice Johannah Cutts, who said Wandel had already been in police custody longer than when he was arrested in February.
The judge addressed Wandel as he delivered his sentencing remarks, the BBC reports.
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Cutts said he accepted evidence that Wandel was abused as a child, adding that he did not have an “easy childhood.”
“But that doesn’t sell your behavior,” she said. “It has been confirmed in this case that you are not Madeleine McCann. There was nothing appropriate or reasonable about this.”
Cutts said the wandel “shouldn’t have behaved like you did to the MCCANNS.”
“They also have the right to leave issues with the police and refuse to be involved in the painful situations they live with. They have suffered with the disappearance of their little child,” said the judge. “Your constant cultivation, diversion and finally going to his address in the evening on a dark day in December was unnecessary.”
Cutts told Wandel that he “caused grief to the McCanns, especially Kate,” referring to Madeleine McCann’s mother.
The judge granted Wandel a restraining order against the MCCANNS, adding that he posed a “significant risk” of future abuse to the family. Wandel has been banned forever from visiting Leicestershire, where the McCann family lives.
Wandel’s phones must also be seized and destroyed as part of his restraining order.
Wandel’s girlfriend, Kandel Spragg, a 61-year-old woman who became Wandel’s supporter after hearing his story, was found not guilty of stabbing or assault.
Cutts said Spragg saw Wandel “as a victim and not the McCanns.”
“You supported him while he was spreading his conspiracy theories,” the judge added.
Cutts was also granted a restraining order against Spragg, barring him from contacting the MCCANNS for five years.
Wandel was sent to prison in a van after leaving the courthouse, as he is now in the hands of immigration authorities, who will make a decision on possible deportation, according to the BBC.
Polish police have disputed Wandel’s claims that he was a McCann after the sharp rise to fame and Wandel’s own parents have spoken out about his campaign, saying they were “devastated” by his claims people around the world found out.
Madeleine McCann, a three-year-old British girl, disappeared from her bed while on vacation with her family in the Praia Daz area of Southern Portugal on May 3, 2007. She has not been seen since.
In May, McCann’s parents marked the 18th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance, saying “the determination to leave no stone unturned is unreal.”
“We will do everything possible to achieve this,” they said.
– With files from world news
& Copy 2025 Global News, Division of Corse Entertainment Inc.
