Influencer Andrew Tate has officially been charged with two counts of rape, human trafficking and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women.
Tate, 36, was arrested in Bucharest, Romania, along with his brother Tristan, 34, and two Romanian women in December. The brothers were held in a Romanian jail for almost three months without charge before being released into house arrest at Tate's "Hustler's Academy."
All four suspects have denied any culpability against the seven alleged victims who claimed they were coerced, often by violent means, to produce pornographic material. They have also been charged with tampering with computer evidence, according to Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
Prosecutors decided on Tuesday to send the four to trial just days after Tate won a small legal battle in Romania.
DIICOT said that one of the defendants illegally accessed the computer of a victim in October 2021 and allegedly posted compromising images of her to her social media. That same month, prosecutors said the defendants allegedly tried to "punish" one of the victims through "acts of violence" after she refused to continue making pornographic material and requested to leave the building where she was being kept in Ilfov County.
The indictment also requested to confiscate a number of physical assets including 15 blocks of buildings, 15 luxury cars, 14 luxury watches, and metals. Prosecutors also asked to confiscate shares held within four commercial companies, around $384,904,789 in cryptocurrency and ordered the defendants to pay the state's advanced legal expenses of around the amount of 300,000 lei ($66,047).
The two brothers deemed the prosecutors' decision as "undoubtedly predictable" but said via a spokesperson that the trial would give them an opportunity to "demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation."
"Our primary focus will be to establish the truth and ensure a fair and impartial examination of the evidence the legal team will submit," Tate's spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement, adding the legal team would "cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities."
"The indictment now allows us to present a comprehensive body of evidence, diligently collected and prepared over time, which will undoubtedly substantiate the brothers' claims of innocence," the statement said.
"We express our gratitude to all those who have stood by us, supporting our clients during this challenging time."
The matter now is in the hands of a judge at the Bucharest Court who has 60 days to review the case files and will decide in a hearing whether to communicate the indictment to the Tates' legal team or establish a deadline for communicating the indictment by post. The judge will also decide whether they will be kept under house arrest or given judiciary control.
"We are experiencing a moment of maximum importance in the criminal procedure, as the court will move to verify the basis of the requests and exceptions invoked by the defence and the legality of the criminal file," Tate's spokesperson said.
The indictment alleged that the four defendants recruited their victims through the promises of love and marriage only to allegedly force them into creating pornographic content. The charges also allege that in 2021, they formed an organized criminal group in order to commit human trafficking in Romania, the United States and the United Kingdom.
On June 13, prosecutors decided to change the human trafficking charges to "in continued form" and added another alleged victim.
The following day, Tate was served with a civil lawsuit by four women in the U.K. who accused him of various crimes between 2013 and 2016. Descriptions of some of Tate's alleged crimes against the women were detailed in a letter from McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the women.
Some of the crimes described in the letter included violent rape, physical violence and coercive control.
The British-American influencer became well known after he was kicked out of the reality program Big Brother U.K. after controversial comments he made about women which were deemed to be misogynistic
He later rose to prominence on YouTube and social media platforms for his views on masculinity.
In 2013, a woman accused Tate of rape in the U.K., but he was never charged. Two other women also reportedly accused him of similar crimes, according to a report on the news website Vice.
The Vice report included graphic details of Tate allegedly raping the woman and text messages they exchanged. British prosecutors later declined to pursue charges in 2019.
Specialists from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) sexual assault hotline are available 24/7 via phone (1 (800) 656-4673) and online chat. Additional support from the group is also accessible via the mobile app.
Update 6/20/23, 7:51 a.m. ET: This story was updated to include comment from Tate's spokesperson, information from DIICOT, and background information.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
