Woman found guilty of harassing Madeleine McCann’s parents

A woman who repeatedly claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been found guilty of harassing the missing girl’s parents but cleared of a more serious stalking charge.

Julia Wandelt and her supporter Karen Spragg – who was acquitted of all charges – were accused of mounting a “campaign of harassment” against Kate and Gerry McCann, which in Wandelt’s case lasted more than two years.

Wandelt, 24, of Lubin, Poland, was found guilty of a lesser charge of harassment and sentenced to six months in prison, which she has already served, having been in custody since February.

In a statement, the McCanns said that, despite the guilty verdict, they “take no pleasure in the result”.

In the statement, the McCanns said they did not want to go through the court process, but a decision to prosecute was made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), based on the evidence gathered by the police.

“We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care and support she needs and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others,” they said.

“If anyone has new evidence relating to Madeleine’s disappearance, please pass this on to the police.”

Wandelt was sentenced during a hearing at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.

During her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Cutts said she accepted that the Polish national did “not have an easy childhood”.

But she said her family history did “not justify the way you behaved”.

“It has been confirmed in this case you are not Madeleine McCann,” she said.

“There was not proper or logical basis for this.”

The judge said the McCanns were “entitled to leave matters with the police and refuse to engage with you particularly in the sad circumstances they live”.

She added: “Your constant pestering, badgering and, eventually, attendance at their home address on a dark evening in December was unwarranted.”

The judge also granted a restraining order stopping both Wandelt and Mrs Spragg, 61, of Caerau Court Road, Cardiff, from contacting the McCanns, visiting Leicestershire or publishing any broadcast concerning the family.

Wandelt’s order will remain in place indefinitely, or until any further ruling is made, while Mrs Spragg’s order will be in place for five years.

The trial heard Wandelt has claimed to be Madeleine, whose disappearance during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007 has never been solved, since 2022.

The results of a DNA test carried out after her arrest in February of this year “conclusively proved” she is not the missing child, but, under cross-examination, Wandelt told the court she was still “50-50” about her identity.

The trial heard Wandelt previously claimed to be two other missing children before asserting she was Madeleine.

Giving evidence, she told the jury she had limited memories of her childhood and “could only remember abuse” after experiences with her step-grandfather.

She began to reach out to the McCann family through Glenfield Hospital, where Madeleine’s parents worked, in June 2022 and then the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the missing child.

Police looked into Wandelt’s claims and called her to “reassure” her she was not Madeleine, the court heard, but contact moved on to directly attempting to reach the McCanns, whose personal details had been included in a leaked Portuguese police file and posted online.

Mrs McCann was subsequently “bombarded” with more than 60 calls and messages on one day, the court was told.

Mr McCann told the court on another occasion, he answered to say “something like, ‘you’re not Madeleine'”.

He said claims like Wandelt’s “pull on your heartstrings” but were “damaging” to the search for his daughter.

The court heard Madeleine’s younger siblings Amelie, and then Sean, were contacted by Wandelt over social media, and family friends and associates – including the parish priest – all received communications, up until February 2025.

But attempts to press the McCanns for a DNA test were not just made remotely.

Wandelt attended a vigil for Madeleine where she tried to hand organiser Janet Kennedy, Madeleine’s great-aunt, an envelope.

She said she “tried to stay courteous and calm”, but told the jury she was “stunned” by the approach.

Mrs Kennedy later tore up the letter, the court heard.

After becoming aware of Wandelt’s visit to the vigil and then Charing Cross police station to have DNA – which was later destroyed – taken, Det Con Mark Draycott told the trial he called Wandelt for a second time to say “in no uncertain terms” that she was not Madeleine.

He advised her if she returned to Leicestershire she could face harassment charges.

The conversation – which was played in court – was recorded without Det Con Draycott’s knowledge, the jury heard, and uploaded to a YouTube crime podcast with Wandelt.

Prosecutor Michael Duck KC said it was around this time that Mrs Spragg, of Caerau Court Road, Cardiff, struck up a relationship online with Wandelt to support her claims and “conspiracy theories”.

A WhatsApp exchange in November 2024 between Wandelt and Mrs Spragg included jokes about going through the McCanns’ bins and stealing cutlery from a restaurant after they visited to obtain DNA, the court heard.

Giving evidence from behind a privacy screen, Mrs McCann testified that she was distressed after being confronted on her driveway by the defendants, who pleaded for a DNA test, in December 2024

She said she felt “invaded in her own home”, while Mr McCann, who had arrived a short while later, told the court: “It brings back a lot of horrible memories of when the media was camped outside our house.”

Wandelt appeared on Dr Phil in the US, which prosecutors said kept her public profile high, and had planned further media appearances on her return to the UK when instead both defendants were arrested in February 2025.

During cross-examination, Wandelt said she was still “50-50” about being Madeleine, despite DNA testing by police carried out after the arrests conclusively proving she is not.

She questioned the authenticity of the DNA results when told the results at HMP Peterborough on 1 April this year, and demanded to see the “entire paperwork”.