Andrew Tate charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania

Social media influencer Andrew Tate has been charged with rape in Romania after being held for months under house arrest.

The “former professional kickboxer [who] became infamous for his viral online rants preaching male dominance, female submission and the pursuit of wealth” has also been charged, alongside his brother Tristan and two Romanian women, with human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, said CNN.

The British-American brothers are “the highest-profile suspects to be sent to trial in Romania for human trafficking”, The Telegraph reported. “Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.”

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The trial “will not start immediately and is expected to take several years”, said the BBC’s Lucy Williamson, reporting from Bucharest. Under Romanian law, a judge has 60 days to first inspect the case files to ensure legality.

Tate is “considered by many to be the poster boy of a new breed of influencer that has wormed out of the internet’s darker fringes and into mainstream consciousness – the so-called ‘alpha males’”, wrote Kimberley Bond for Metro.

The four defendants, who were arrested in December and have been under house arrest since March, deny the charges of human trafficking and forming an organised crime group, said to involve seven female victims.

“Andrew Tate has also been charged with raping one of the victims, while his brother Tristan has been charged with instigating others to violence,” said Sky News. They also deny these charges.

Prosecutors want to confiscate “15 luxury cars, luxury watches and about $3 million they held in cryptocurrency”, said the Daily Mail.

The charges were “entirely predictable”, a spokesperson for the brothers told the paper, but added that they “embrace the opportunity it presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation”.