Trigger warning – article contains themes of sexual assault and violence.
It was announced today that controversial far-right influencer Andrew Tate, 36, has been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal group to sexually exploit women.
Tate's brother Tristan, 34, and two associates have also been charged in Romania. They have all denied the allegations.
The Tate brothers - both dual UK-US nationals and two Romanian women were first arrested in Bucharest last December, and detained over an investigation into human trafficking and rape.
"The four suspects... appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost," prosecutors announced, via Reuters new agency at the time of their arrest.
They have been under house arrest in Romania since 31 March 2023 where they were placed after being released from custody.
On Tuesday, prosecutors decided to send the four suspects to trial.
“We embrace the opportunity [a trial] presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation,” a spokesperson for the Tate brothers announced.
The trial does not have a start date, but according to reports, it is expected to last several years.
Who is Andrew Tate?
Andrew Tate is an influencer, who rose to fame after a brief stint on Big Brother in 2016. He was forced to leave the show after a video surfaced of him beating a woman with a belt, which Tate has since said was consensual.
He has since become an online influencer for the "manosphere", renowned as an "extreme misogynist".
Tate has previously said that women are a man's property, should not drive and belong in the home, and insists that he only dates women aged 18-19 so that he can "make an imprint" on them.
His videos, accused of promoting hate and radicalising men and boys to cause offline violence, saw the 36-year-old banned from social media.
“It’s bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch,” he said in one video, explaining how he would attack a woman who accused him of cheating.
We will continue to update this story.
