Andrew Tate charged with rape, human trafficking in Romania

Romanian prosecutors indictedAndrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two other suspects on Tuesday on charges that include human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The Tate brothers and two Romanian female suspects are under house arrest pending a criminal investigation for abuses committed against seven women, accusations they have denied.

The four were held in police custody from Dec. 29 until March 31 before a Bucharest court put them under house arrest.

A judge will decide on Wednesday whether to prolong the detention for 30 days or replace it with a lighter measure.

Andrew Tate, 36, has also been charged with raping one of the victims, while Tristan, 34, has been charged with instigating others to violence, according to prosecutors.

Trafficking of adults carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, as does rape.

"We embrace the opportunity [a trial] presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation," a spokesperson for the Tates' legal team said.

LISTEN |The arrest of Andrew Tate (from January):

Front Burner27:07The arrest of misogynist influencer Andrew Tate

The trial will not start immediately.

Under Romanian law, the case gets sent to the court's preliminary chamber, where a judge has 60 days to inspect the case files to ensure legality.

Prosecutors also said they were investigating the four suspects in a separate ongoing case on allegations of money laundering, witness tamperingand child and adult trafficking.

The indictment also sought the confiscation of property, luxury watches, cash and cryptocurrency seized by prosecutors during the investigation.

"I'm sure this case has absolutely nothing to do with stealing my wealth," Andrew Tate tweeted on Tuesday.

Used false pretences, indictment alleges

The Tate brothers are former kick-boxers who have U.S. and British nationality with millions of online followers. In 2022, Andrew Tate was the world's eighth-most Googled person, trailing only figures such as Johnny Depp, Will Smith and Vladimir Putin.

In the past Andrew Tate has compared women to dogs and said they bear some responsibility for their rape. He has said he moved to Romania after being investigated in the United Kingdom on charges of sexual assault, which were ultimately dropped.

Romanian prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

The victims were then taken to properties outside the capital Bucharest, and through physical violence and mental intimidation were sexually exploited by being forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial gain, prosecutors said.

The case will be a test for Romania's anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT, which last year investigated 458 new trafficking cases and convicted 138 sex and labour traffickers, according to an annual trafficking report from the U.S. State Department.