A Romanian court yesterday rejected appeals by Andrew Tate's legal team to ease judicial restrictions placed upon him.
Tate was formally charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women last June. His brother Tristian Tate, and two other Romanian women, are also have charges filed against them. The brothers are under house arrest, resticted to Bucharest Municipality & Ilfov County in Romania, and cannot leave the country whilst awaiting trial.
The kickboxer-turned-influencer built a Social Media empire over several years, in which he espoused sexist, misogynist and abusive views against women. In August 2022, Tate was banned from Facebook, Instagram and Youtube for multiple violations of their terms of service, including threatening and inciting violence. Tate's fall from grace was followed by an arrest in December 2022, related to a webcam studio run by Andrew, his brother Tristian, and two other women in Romania.
The Romanian Anti-Organised Crime Agency, DIICOT accuses the Tates of having recruited women through the "Boyfriend Method" - also known as the Romeo or Loverboy Method. This human trafficking method involves an abuser forming a strong romantic relationship with the victim, before forcing the victim into a state of coercive control. Often victims are trafficked into prostitution, or are foced to create explicit content for online sex websites. The Tates are alleged to have formed an organised crime group in early 2021, focing victims to create explicit content for websites like OnlyFans. DIICOT identified six potential victims.
Tate, 36, has resided in Romania since 2017. He has claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
The case is still in the preliminary chamber stages. Under Romanian law, defendants can challenge the prosecution's evidence and case file at this stage in the process. A date for the trial has yet to be set.
For more information, see the full release from the Associated Press here.
