Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@cobratate/lcv / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: News
Gregory Robinson
Topics: News
Controversial social media figure Andrew Tate has been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming organised crime group to sexually exploit women, it was announced today (20 June).
Prosecutors in Romania are sending Tate, his brother Tristan and two female Romanian suspects to trial on the charges.
The Tate brothers were first arrested at their home in Bucharest in December, 2022.
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On 31 March, the brothers were moved from custody to house arrest following a ruling made by a Romanian judge.
The indictment deposited with the court in Bucharest court says that the four defendants formed an organised criminal group in 2021 to commit human trafficking in Romanian and other countries, including the US and the UK.
Seven alleged victims are named in the document who were allegedly recruited by the Tate brothers through phoney promises of love and marriage.
Tate, 36, has been charged with raping one of the victims, while Tristan, 34, has been charged with instigating others to violence.
All four individuals who are being sent to trial are currently under house arrest. They have all denied the charges.
A Romanian a judge now has 60 days to analyse the case files before it can be sent to trial. A trial on the case is expected to last several years and will not start immediately.
Last week, Romanian prosecutors announced that they changed the charge of human trafficking they are investigating against Tate and his brother.
According to Reuters, prosecutors said on 13 June that Tate, his brother and two other suspects were now being investigated for human trafficking in continued form.
They said it was a more serious crime than the separate counts of trafficking that officials had previously been investigating.
The case against the four suspects initially identified six women however Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) has since added another person to the list of victims.
The accused were first arrested on 29 December when Romanian police raided Tate's mansion and he remained in custody until 31 March, after which he was placed under house arrest.
At the initial time of arrest, DIICOT said the six victims they had initially identified had been subjected to 'acts of physical violence and mental coercion' by the alleged crime group.
Tate gained internet infamy for posting content containing controversial and misogynistic views.
Past clips from the former Big Brother contestant have seen him say he believes women are the 'property' of men and likening being in a relationship with a woman to 'training a dog'.