A fourth British woman has joined a civil claim for damages against Andrew Tate, alleging she was also a victim of sexual and physical assault by him.
The woman joins three claimants who said in April that they intended to commence proceedings against the former kickboxer and self-proclaimed misogynist.
The woman, now 30, was at university in 2014 when she says she met Tate while on a night out in his home town of Luton.
“Initially, he was very kind and charming and I ended up going home with him,” the woman said. “While having sex, he began to choke me and choked me so hard that I lost consciousness. I thought I was going to die. When I woke up, he was continuing to rape me. It is difficult to say that because it is so upsetting, but that is what it was.”
She said her decision to come forward was inspired by “reading the stories about other women who were brave enough to speak out about Tate”.
“I am hoping that my story will help other women do the same as it is easier to speak out when you realise that you are not alone,” she said. “Initially, I think I was in denial after it happened … I was young and I think that I probably blamed myself a bit. More recently, and especially following his rise to fame, it became impossible to avoid as he was, and is, everywhere.”
According to the law firm McCue Jury & Partners, the aim of the lawsuit is to seek “justice, accountability and compensation for Tate’s victims”, as well as to encourage “a UK criminal investigation into Tate’s crimes in the hope of his prosecution and conviction in the UK, in addition to the charges he is facing in Romania”.
The four women in their late 20s and early 30s are pursuing civil proceedings against Tate over alleged offences between 2013 and 2016 while he was still living in the UK. A Crowdjustice campaign to support legal action against Tate has received more than 500 donations totalling almost £15,000.
Tate, 36, a British-US citizen with more than 6.5 million Twitter followers, was placed under house arrest in Romania in April after a court overturned a request by prosecutors for him to be detained. Alongside his brother and two Romanian women, Tate faces charges of rape, people trafficking and organised crime. They have denied all the accusations.
The claims in the civil case relate to personal injury and psychiatric harm as a result of alleged violent sexual and physical assault as well as coercive control.
Last week, Tate gave an interview to the BBC in which he denied the allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him, and denied that his views on women were harmful. He said: “I genuinely am a force for good in the world. You may not understand that yet, but you will eventually. And I genuinely believe I am acting under the instruction of God to do good things, and I want to make the world a better place.”
A spokesperson for Tate said: “We understand there is a lot of interest surrounding Andrew at the moment; however, he vehemently denies these accusations and does not condone violence of any kind towards women. All sexual acts that Andrew has partaken in have been consensual and agreed upon before by both parties.
“Andrew strongly encourages women who have experienced assault, in any form, to report it to the relevant authorities. He is saddened that a few women who he has allegedly spent time with nearly a decade ago have decided to try and take advantage of his current situation. We will not be commenting any further on anyone’s alleged intention to pursue legal action unless such action is submitted to the authorities.”
In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
