Romanian prosecutors charged misogynist social media influencer Andrew Tate on Tuesday with forming an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape. His brother Tristan and two other associates were also charged, CBS News partner network BBC News and international news agencies reported. All of those charged have denied the allegations.
The four accused, including two Romanian women, were detained by Romanian police in December 2022. The Tate brothers were put under house arrest in March pending a criminal investigation.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), has accused the four defendants of forming an organized crime group to carry out human trafficking in Romania, the U.K. and the U.S. It says seven alleged victims were recruited by two defendants and misled about their romantic intentions. The alleged victims were then moved to houses where they were intimidated with acts of physical and mental violence, and sexually exploited, according to DIICOT.
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The agency says one of the defendents, who BBC News named as Andrew Tate, repeatedly raped one of the alleged victims. The BBC said a Romanian judge had 60 days to inspect the case and that the trial would likely take years. No start date for the proceedings was announced.
Tate, a former boxer and martial artist, is best-known for spreading hate speech, misogyny and violence on social media. He was banned by both Facebook and Instagram in August 2022 for violating parent company Meta’s policies on dangerous organizations and individuals, and has also been banned from posting videos on YouTube.
He was suspended by Twitter in 2017 but reinstated on the platform after Elon Musk took ownership of the company last year.
The Tate brothers’ media team said Tuesday that, “while this news is undoubtedly predictable, we embrace the opportunity it presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation,” BBC News reported.
CBS News’ C Mandler contributed to this report.
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