American pilot accused of abducting nine-year-old French girl during London visit outside Harrods
An American pilot accused of abducting a nine-year-old French girl during a family trip to London allegedly approached her outside Harrods after she became separated from her parents, a court has heard.
Robert Prussak, 57, faces charges of kidnapping, drugging, and sexually assaulting the child, all of which he denies.
The incident occurred on April 22 last year, when the girl and her family were visiting London from France. Isleworth Crown Court heard that Prussak, who has no fixed address, allegedly engaged with the girl after she got separated from her family at the department store.
The girl’s father, testifying via videolink from France, recounted the harrowing moments when he realized his daughter was missing, saying, “We started panicking.” He described how the family immediately sought help from store staff, who alerted security, while his wife retraced their steps outside.
The father’s fear escalated when a police officer showed him a CCTV image of his daughter walking away with a man he did not recognise. "I understood it was much more serious than what I thought," he said. "At first, when the minutes were passing by, I thought she was lost, but when I saw the picture of the man I thought she could have been abducted."
The girl’s mother, giving evidence, recalled the shock of seeing the image. "I was out of words, I could not believe it," she said, describing the three hours her daughter was missing as "very stressful." She explained, "We were in the lounges of Harrods upstairs. I was very stressed, but I tried to keep calm for the children."
Khadija Errady, a customer services worker at Harrods who spoke French, assisted the parents during the search. She testified that the father was “very stressed” and at times visibly emotional, while the mother tried to remain composed for the sake of their other children.
The court also heard from the nine-year-old girl, who was cross-examined by Prussak's defense lawyer, Catherine Donnelly. The child recalled feeling sad but not crying when she was separated from her parents. She said that after drinking "strange" tasting water given to her by Prussak in his flat, she began to feel tired, although she did not notice an immediate effect. The girl denied taking any medication while at Prussak’s flat or earlier that day.
Prussak, who appeared in court wearing a light blue T-shirt and glasses, denies three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, as well as charges of kidnapping, committing an offence of kidnapping with intent to commit a sexual offence, and administering a substance with intent.
The trial is ongoing.