Self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate and his younger brother Tristan Tate have been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, Romanian authorities said Tuesday.
The controversial social media personality and former kickboxing world champion was arrested in late December in a suburb of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, alongside Tristan and two other women.
On Tuesday, the country’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said in a statement all four defendants formed a criminal group “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania, the U.S. and the U.K.
Authorities have identified seven victims who say they were allegedly recruited by the group under false pretenses. The brothers seduced them by falsely claiming to want a relationship, according to prosecutors.
They were then taken to a suburb in Bucharest, where they were sexually exploited and subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion.”
The women were allegedly controlled by “intimidation [and] constant surveillance,” prosecutors said.
The two brothers are expected to attend a hearing in Bucharest Wednesday morning.
Their spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said Tuesday they are prepared to “demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation.”
Andrew, 36, has dual British and American citizenship and has lived in Romania since 2017. He denies any wrongdoing and claims he’s being targeted by authorities in an effort to silence him.
He was previously banned from several social media platforms over hate speech and misogynistic content. He was reinstated to Twitter by the company’s owner and then-CEO Elon Musk on Nov. 18, 2022.
On Tuesday, he took to the micro-blogging site to issue a warning to his male followers.
“Men. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about whether you like me or not. This is about all of us,” Tate tweeted to his nearly 7 million Twitter followers. “Today it’s me. Tomorrow it’s you. Nobody is safe from these lies,” he added.
With News Wire Services
