Julia Wandelt, who claimed to be the British girl who disappeared in 2007, was sentenced for harassment
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The Madeleine McCann case returned to international headlines after the conviction of Julia Wandelt, a 24-year-old Polish woman who, in recent years, publicly claimed to be the British girl who disappeared in 2007.
The Leicester court (United Kingdom) handed down a six-month prison sentence for ongoing harassment against Kate and Gerry McCann, the girl's parents.
According to the ruling, Wandelt launched a "systematic harassment campaign" between 2022 and 2025 that included calls, messages, and unauthorized visits to the family home.
La joven afirmaba en sus redes sociales ser Madeleine McCann
Despite court warnings and DNA test results—which confirmed there was no biological link to the McCanns—the defendant persisted in her behavior.
During the trial, prosecutors described a series of incidents that seriously affected the family's private life.
Wandelt called more than fifty times in a single day and left letters at the door of the house, signed as "Madeleine" and addressed to "Mum."
The most moving testimony came from Amélie McCann, the missing girl's younger sister, who told the court: "She called my mother more than fifty times in a single day. Every time the phone rang, the fear and anguish we thought we had overcome returned."
Los padres de Madeleine acudieron a la Justicia por miedo a su integridad
The judges found that Wandeltsuffers from identity disorders and post-traumatic stress resulting from abuse experienced during her childhood. However, they emphasized that these circumstances did not justify the harm caused to the McCanns.
The sentence, in addition to the prison term (almost fully served, since the defendant had been in custody since February 2025), includes a permanent restraining order prohibiting any contact with the family or with individuals connected to the case.
The conviction revives one of the most painful and high-profile cases of recent decades. Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007, when she was three years old, at the Praia da Luz tourist complex in the Algarve (Portugal), while her parents were having dinner with friends just a few meters from the apartment.
Over the years, the search for Madeleine caused multiple theories, lines of investigation, and alleged sightings in different countries, but none managed to provide conclusive evidence about her whereabouts.
Julia Wandelt's name began circulating in 2022, when the young woman posted videos on social media claiming to have vague memories of her childhood in Portugal and physical features similar to those of the missing girl. Media attention grew rapidly, until a DNA test showed that she was the daughter of a Polish family with no connection to the McCanns.
