BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, a social media persona recognized for expressing misogynistic views on-line, was charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a legal gang to use girls, prosecutors mentioned Tuesday.
Prosecutors additionally filed fees in opposition to Tate’s brother, Tristan, and two Romanian girls in a courtroom in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, the nation’s anti-organized crime company mentioned.
In an announcement, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism alleged the 4 defendants shaped a legal group in 2021 “as a way to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania in addition to america and Britain.
The company alleged that seven feminine victims had been misled and transported to Romania, the place they had been sexually exploited and subjected to bodily violence by the gang. One defendant is accused of raping a lady twice in March 2022, in accordance with the assertion.
Tate, 36, has resided in Romania since 2017. The previous skilled kickboxer has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors don’t have any proof and alleged the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, mentioned Tuesday that the brothers had been ready to “display their innocence and vindicate their repute.” The 2 males are anticipated to attend a listening to in Bucharest on Wednesday morning, she added.
“Tate’s authorized crew are ready to cooperate totally with the suitable authorities, presenting all crucial proof to exonerate the brothers and expose any misinterpretations or false accusations,” Petrescu mentioned.
Below Romanian regulation, a decide has as much as 60 days to evaluate the recordsdata within the case earlier than defendants are despatched to trial.
The Tate brothers, who’re twin British-U.S. residents, and the 2 Romanian suspects had been detained in late December in Bucharest. The brothers received an attraction on March 31 to be moved from police custody to deal with arrest.
On the time, Tate was a massively profitable social media determine with greater than 6 million Twitter followers, lots of them younger males and schoolchildren. He beforehand was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Fb for hate speech and his misogynistic feedback, together with that ladies ought to bear accountability for getting sexually assaulted.
He returned to Twitter final yr after the platform’s new CEO, Elon Musk, reinstated Tate’s account. Hope Not Hate, a bunch campaigning in opposition to far-right extremism within the U.Okay., has warned that Tate continues to draw an enormous following amongst younger males and teenage boys who’re drawn to his “misogynist, homophobic and racist content material” by the luxurious life-style the influencer tasks on-line.
Romania’s anti-organized crime company, generally known as DIICOT, mentioned the seven alleged victims had been recruited with false declarations of affection and brought to Romania’s Ilfov county, the place they had been compelled to participate in pornography. The ladies had been allegedly managed by “intimidation, fixed surveillance” and claims they had been in debt, prosecutors mentioned.
Prosecutors ordered the confiscation of the Tate brothers’ belongings, together with 15 luxurious automobiles, luxurious watches and about $3 million in cryptocurrency, the company’s assertion mentioned.
A number of girls in Britain are also pursuing civil claims to acquire damages from Tate, alleging they had been victims of sexual violence. In a latest interview with the BBC, Tate denied spreading a tradition of misogyny and accusations that he manipulated girls for monetary acquire.
