Woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann found guilty of harassing family

A Polish woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann, a British girl who disappeared in 2007 while on a family vacation in Portugal, has been found guilty of harassing the family of the missing girl.

Julia Wandel, also known as Julia Wandelt, first claimed to be McCann in 2023 when she posted numerous pieces of “evidence” to social media, most of which were side-by-side comparisons of similar physical characteristics between her and McCann.

Wandel flew from Poland to England and drove to the McCanns’ home, where she demanded they submit to a DNA test in December 2024.

In February, Wandel was arrested and accused of stalking McCann’s family by contacting them incessantly and turning up at their home in the U.K. She was charged with stalking four members of the McCann family — parents Gerry and Kate, and twin siblings Sean and Amelie — throughout 2024 and into 2025. She was also alleged to have paid unwanted and unsolicited visits to their home twice, in May and December of last year.

On Friday, a jury in Leicester Crown Court in England unanimously decided Wandel was not guilty of stalking, but was guilty of harassment.  She was sentenced to six months in prison by Justice Johannah Cutts, who said Wandel had already been in police custody for longer than that after her arrest in February.

The judge addressed Wandel as she delivered her sentencing remarks, the BBC reports.

Cutts said she accepted evidence of Wandel being abused as a child, adding that she did “not have an easy childhood.”

“But that does not justify the way you behaved,” she said. “It has been confirmed in this case you are not Madeleine McCann. There was not proper or logical basis for this.”

Cutts said what Wandel “should not have done is behave as you did to the McCanns.”

“They too were entitled to leave matters with the police and refuse to engage with you particularly in the sad circumstances they live. They have suffered with the disappearance of their young child for many years,” the judge said. “Your constant pestering, badgering and eventually attendance at their home address on a dark evening in December was unwarranted.”

Cutts told Wandel she “caused distress to both the McCanns, particularly Kate,” referring to Madeleine McCann’s mother.

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The judge granted a restraining order against Wandel in relation to the McCanns, adding that she posed a “significant risk” of harassing the family in the future. Wandel is also banned indefinitely from visiting Leicestershire, where the McCann family lives.

Wandel’s phones must also be forfeited and destroyed as part of her restraining order.

Wandel’s co-defendant, Karen Spragg, a 61-year-old Welsh woman who became a supporter of Wandel after hearing her story, was found not guilty of stalking or harassment.

Cutts said Spragg saw Wandel “as the victim and not the McCanns.”

“She supported her while indulging in her conspiracy theories,” the judge added.

Cutts also granted a restraining order against Spragg, which bans her from contacting the McCanns for five years.

Wandel was transported to prison in a van after leaving the courthouse, as her case is now in the hands of the immigration authorities, who will decide on a possible deportation, according to the BBC.

Polish police had previously disputed Wandel’s claims that she was McCann after she reached viral fame and Wandel’s own parents spoke out about her campaign, saying they were “devastated” by her claims and the worldwide media attention they garnered.

Madeleine McCann, the then-three-year-old British girl, disappeared from her bed while on vacation with her family in the Praia da Luz resort in 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 that their “determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering.”

“We will do our utmost to achieve this,” they said.

— With files from Global News