Ex-US Air Force officer who took lost girl, 9, back to his apartment for 2 hours acquitted of kidnapping and sex assault charges
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
A little girl was separated from her family on a trip to London’s famed Harrod’s department store for just 15 seconds. In that time, she met a strange man who took her back to his apartment for two hours.
The 9-year-old girl alleged she was drugged and then sexually assaulted at Hyde Park.
The man, former US Air Force officer Robert Prussak, 57, said he was merely trying to help the girl and tried to bring her to authorities.
Robert Prussak, 57, broke down in tears as he was found not guilty of three counts of sexual assault of a child by the Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday, the Shropshire Star reported.
On Tuesday, he was acquitted of all charges in Isleworth Crown Court following a bombshell UK trial.
‘I did not touch [the girl] in the way she described. I’m not sure why she would say that,” Prussak told jurors, according to the Daily Mail.
Prussak, 57, broke down in tears as the verdict was read, the Shropshire Star reported.
The American military veteran and pilot was arrested on April 22, the same day he allegedly approached the French girl, who was in London on vacation with her family.
Speaking to the court last week, the girl – who cannot be named due to her age – said she was approached by a man who asked her through a translation app if she wanted help, the Times of London said.
She noted that she looked sad because she was lost, but that she was not crying.
According to the prosecution, Prussak took the girl back to his apartment and gave her bitter-tasting water.
During the court proceedings, the jury saw CCTV footage of the girl entering Prussak’s apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood at 2:44 p.m., the Times of London reported.
They were not seen leaving until nearly two hours later, at 4:39 p.m.
Urine samples later taken at the hospital suggested that the girl may have ingested the antihistamine Benadryl, which can cause drowsiness.
When the cup was tested, it showed no trace of the drug, the court heard – four empty Benadryl packets were found in a compartment behind the door of Prussak’s home.
After going to his apartment, Prussak allegedly took the girl to Hyde Park and sexually assaulted her.
Meanwhile, the girl’s family and Harrods security scoured the area for the missing child — and eventually zeroed in on footage of her being led away by a man.
“I saw my wife going inside the shop holding the hand of my other child and then they went inside Harrods. After 15 seconds we asked ourselves, ‘Where is my daughter?’ We didn’t know if she came inside Harrods or if she remained outside. I started panicking,” the girl’s father told the court through a French interpreter last week, according to the Times of London.
“I thought she was lost but when I saw the picture of the man I thought that she could’ve been abducted.”
The girl’s mother said the three hours her daughter was gone were “very stressful,” but added that she “tried to keep calm” for their other children.
Metropolitan Police officers outside the Israeli Embassy spotted the pair and arrested Prussak at 5:40 p.m., the Times of London said.
At one point during deliberations, the jury asked if there was any DNA evidence of the alleged assault, the Star said.
The judge said that there was not.
In court on Friday, Prussak claimed he was only trying to keep the girl safe, SkyNews reported.
“My mind went straight to my own daughters who are just a few years older than her and I thought if my daughters were lost in a big city, I wouldn’t want them stuck out alone,” he said of the moment he supposedly saw the girl standing alone while on his way to Buckingham Palace.
The pair used a translation app to communicate, he claimed.
Prussak said he asked the girl where her parents were, and she said something that he assumed meant “museum” — though she apparently did not know to which one her family was headed.
He claimed that he then walked her in the direction of a museum “to hopefully intercept the parents,” SkyNews reported.
Prussak took the girl back to his apartment when it started to rain, he added.
He said he gave her water and let her watch TV while he tried to find a police station to take her to, according to the Daily Mail.
He denied ever sexually assaulting her.
In addition to the sex assault charges, Prussak was cleared on one charge of kidnapping, one charge of committing a kidnapping with intent to commit a sexual offense, and one count of administering a substance with intent.
Prussak, of California, spent about 17 years in the Air Force before leaving at the end of 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He was married for 27 years before separating from his former wife, Danielle, in August 2020, according to online court records.
In July 2021, Danielle Prussak was granted a domestic violence protection order against her ex, whom she alleged was violent during their marriage – including at least one sexual assault.
The protection order was renewed in June 2022.
Danielle Prussak could not immediately be reached for a comment.