Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann reported for ‘explicit images of children on her phone’

By Charlie Herbert

Her phone was seized by police.

The Polish woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been reported to the police over explicit images of children that were allegedly found on her phone. Julia Wandelt hit the headlines earlier this year when she claimed on Instagram that she is the British girl who went missing in Praia da Luz in 2007. But – after a saga which included her travelling to the US and appearing on Dr Phil with her representative, private investigator and self-titled ‘Persian medium’ Dr Fia Johnson – she has since taken a DNA test that proved she is not the missing Brit. She has now returned to Poland, but still believes she could be Madeleine. On Tuesday though, there were reports that police had seized Wandelt’s phone. It has now been revealed that Dr Johansson filed a report alleging that a phone that Wandelt had left behind in California following the DNA test appeared to contain explicit images of children. Speaking to The Sun, she said: “Police are taking this very seriously and have assured me that a full investigation will be done.” She added that Orange County police have told her the phone would be passed on to law enforcement in Germany and Poland. Julia denies the claims and said she has already spoken to police in Poland about this. She also told the Sun: “I didn’t have child pornography on my phone. I am not a paedophile. I am a victim of a paedophile.” Wendell’s phone was reportedly seized by police as part of a search and seizure, and that the 21-year-old had handed it over voluntarily. According to reports, there is now a global probe into the case, with Orange County Sheriff’s Department contacting Polish police. Department Spokesman Sergeant Mike Woodroof told RadarOnline.com: “We are not going to make any comments about the case. “Our investigation is taking a deep look into it and we’re going to let them do their investigative duties and then from that point let the judicial system take over – if it needs to.” Since returning to Poland, Julia, has said she plans to take another DNA test and she does not believe the outcome of the first time. It suggested she was largely Polish, with some Lithuanian and Russian heritage. When Julia first announced she might be Madeleine, she posted evidence that included some freckles on her leg, an eye defect, and suggested there were missing pages from her medical records. Julia would be two years older than Madeleine who would turn 19 in May this year. She’s also claimed that she was abused by someone who looks like a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance and that she has no records from when she was a child. Polish police have disputed her claims and her parents have said she is unwell and have repeatedly asked her to stop making the claims. Last week, Julia apologised to the McCanns in a 17-page statement, where she also said she might still be the missing girl. She claimed she never said she was Madeleine – just that she believed she was. She apologised for creating an Instagram account with the nickname “I Am Madeleine McCann” and says she should have said, “Am I?”

Related links:

Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann apologies to Kate and Gerry

Julia Wendell will return home to her father following DNA test results

Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann finally gets DNA test results back