Influencer Andrew Tate charged with human trafficking, rape in Romania
Bucharest, June 20 (EFE).- British-American influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two others have been charged by a Romanian court with rape, human trafficking and forming an organized criminal group to sexually exploit women, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
The Tate brothers, former police officer Georgiana Manuela Naghel and Andrew’s friend, Alexandra-Luana Radu — both Romanian nationals — were arrested in Bucharest in December 2022 and will now face trial over alleged abuses committed against seven women.
The victims were recruited by the brothers and their accomplices “by misleading them about their intention to establish a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of real feelings of love,” the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), said in a statement.
“They were later transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county where, by exercising acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts), they were sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform pornographic acts in order to produce and disseminate the material on some social media platforms of this nature,” the statement continued.
The indictment added that the four defendants created a criminal organization “to commit the crime of human trafficking on the territory of Romania, but also in other countries, such as the United States of America and Great Britain.”
The prosecutor’s indictment included the seizing of several assets, including 15 properties, 15 luxury cars, 14 luxury watches, and over $384 million in cryptocurrencies.
The four defendants were detained in police custody in December until they were placed under house arrest in March. All four have denied the allegations.
Tate, a former world champion kickboxer, has millions of followers online and became famous for promoting content widely considered misogynistic.EFE
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