The controversial ‘influencer’ Andrew Tate, awaiting trial for rape and trafficking, comes out of house arrest in Romania

Former British-American kickboxing champion-turned-influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, pending trial for creating an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape, have been released from house arrest after the Court of Appeal of Bucharest decided this Friday that they could be investigated under judicial control. In order to leave home, both defendants must appear before the judge or court every time they are summoned; Report immediately if they change their address and report to the police station under their supervision in accordance with the surveillance program drawn up by the police body or when they are called. In addition, the two will have movement restrictions by being limited only to the city of Bucharest and Ilfov County, which surrounds the Romanian capital, except with the prior approval of the judge. Nor will they be able to contact witnesses or victims.

On June 20, the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office expanded the charges and officially accused the controversial influencer, 36, and his brother, who faces up to 13 years in prison, of involvement in a network of sexual exploitation of women. They are accused of recruiting, housing, exploiting and forcing women to create pornographic content material that was paid for on internet platforms. From these activities, the brothers would have obtained significant sums of money. In addition, they are charged with the crimes of constituting an organized criminal group, continuous human trafficking, continuous rape, and other types of violence and instigation of this crime.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, human trafficking was committed both in Romania and in the United States and the United Kingdom. Investigators claim that brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate recruited young men using the method known as lover boy, which involves tricking women into believing that they were starting a romantic relationship with them. Then, the victims were transferred and housed in a house in Ilfov county, where, with physical violence and mental coercion – intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invocation of alleged debts – “they would have been sexually exploited by members of the group forcing pornographic demonstrations to produce and disseminate” videos that were later posted on adult websites and “obtain significant financial benefits” as a “result of users accessing the materials,” the prosecution said.

The victims told investigators that a video studio was set up in the Ilfov County home and that they were forced to get “Owned by Tate” tattoos. Investigators identified seven victims in the case, but only three are involved in the criminal proceedings. Regarding the crime of rape, the Prosecutor’s Office assures that, in March 2022, one of them was forced by one of the Tate brothers, using physical and psychological violence to repeatedly have sex with him. Likewise, with regard to the crimes of incitement to give beatings or other types of violence, the investigators specify that, in October 2021, and in order to “punish” one of the victims, one of the brothers’ accomplices assaulted for refusing to continue making pornographic material.

During the investigation, various assets of the Tate brothers in Romania were seized: 15 land and homes located in Ilfov, Prahova and Braşov counties, 15 luxury cars, 14 high-end watches, two ingots and one medal, shares in four companies, cash in different currencies and cryptocurrencies (about 352,688 euros). In recent years, Andrew Tate has become famous for streams full of racist and misogynistic comments in which he flaunted his wealth. In fact, Tate had a Twitter message exchange with climate change activist Greta Thunberg last December, which helped Romanian police find out where he was hiding. The former athlete, who moved to Romania in 2017, wanted to make fun of the activist by exhibiting her collection of highly polluting luxury cars, to which Thunberg responded by questioning her manhood with messages that garnered millions of likes on the networks. social. In a photo posted on Twitter during that exchange with the activist, Tate appears with a pizza box from a Romanian establishment, so the organized crime squad was able to track him down.

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