Romania’s BUCHAREST— According to authorities, Andrew Tate, a social media figure well-known for his online expression of misogynistic ideas, has been accused in Romania of rape, human trafficking, and organized a gang to abuse women.
According to Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, prosecutors also brought charges against Andrew Tate’s brother Tristan and two Romanian women in a court in Bucharest, the country’s capital.
The Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism claimed in a statement that the four defendants established a criminal organization in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as the U.S. and U.K.
The agency claimed seven female victims were deceived into traveling to Romania, where the group physically assaulted and sexually exploited them. According to the statement, one suspect was accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022.
Since 2017, Andrew Tate, 36, has lived in Romania. The former professional kickboxer has consistently argued that Romanian prosecutors lack proof and that the lawsuit attempts to suppress him through political means.
Andrew Tate, a social media figure well-known for his online expression of misogynistic ideas, has been accused in Romania of rape and human trafficking.
According to Petrescu, “Andrew Tate’s legal team is ready to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities, presenting all necessary evidence to exonerate the brothers and expose any misunderstandings or false accusations.”
Before sending defendants to trial, a judge in Romania has up to 60 days to review the case’s papers.
The two suspects from Romania and the Tate brothers, who hold dual U.S. and British citizenship, were apprehended in Bucharest in late December. On March 31, the brothers’ plea to be placed under home arrest instead of police custody was successful.
Andrew Tate was a tremendously popular social media personality at the time, with more than 6 million followers on Twitter, many of them young men and schoolchildren. For his hate speech and his misogynistic remarks, which included saying that women should take responsibility for experiencing sexual assault, he had already been banned from TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.
Last year, Andrew Tate’s account was reinstated by Twitter’s new CEO, Elon Musk, and he returned to using the service. Andrew Tate continues to generate a sizable following among young males and teenage boys who are enticed to his “misogynist, homophobic, and racist content” by the opulent lifestyle the influencer displays online, according to Hope Not Hate, a nonprofit fighting far-right extremism in the U.K.
According to Romania’s anti-organized crime organization DIICOT, the seven accused victims were lured in with bogus confessions of love and driven to the county of Ilfov, where they were coerced into participating in pornography. Prosecutors claimed that “intimidation, constant surveillance,” and assertions that the women were in debt were used to control the women.
Andrew Tate, a social media figure well-known for his online expression of misogynistic ideas, has been accused in Romania of rape, human trafficking.
According to the statement from the agency, prosecutors ordered the seizure of Andrew Tates’ assets, which included 15 high-end cars, pricey watches, and roughly $3 million in Bitcoin.
Several British women are also seeking civil lawsuits against Andrew Tate for damages because they were the victims of sexual assault. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tate refuted claims that he fostered a misogynistic atmosphere and used women as bargaining chips Andrew Tate.
SOURCE – (AP)
