Andrew Tate, a social media personality known for expressing misogynistic views online, was charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Prosecutors also filed charges against Tate's brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women in a court in Bucharest, Romania's capital, the nation's anti-organized crime agency said.
In a statement, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism alleged the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as the United States and Britain.
The agency alleged that seven female victims were misled and transported to Romania, where they were sexually exploited and subjected to physical violence by the gang. One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the statement.
Tate, 36, has resided in Romania since 2017. The former professional kickboxer has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said Tuesday that the brothers were prepared to “demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation.” The two men are expected to attend a hearing in Bucharest on Wednesday morning, she added.
“Tate’s legal team are prepared to cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities, presenting all necessary evidence to exonerate the brothers and expose any misinterpretations or false accusations,” Petrescu said.
Under Romanian law, a judge has up to 60 days to assess the files in the case before defendants are sent to trial.
The Tate brothers, who are dual British-U.S. citizens, and the two Romanian suspects were detained in late December in Bucharest. The brothers won an appeal on March 31 to be moved from police custody to house arrest.
At the time, Tate was a hugely successful social media figure with more than 6 million Twitter followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren. He previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.
He returned to Twitter last year after the platform's new CEO, Elon Musk, reinstated Tate's account. Hope Not Hate, a group campaigning against far-right extremism in the U.K., has warned that Tate continues to attract a huge following among young men and teenage boys who are drawn to his “misogynist, homophobic and racist content" by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online.
Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, known as DIICOT, said the seven alleged victims were recruited with false declarations of love and taken to Romania's Ilfov county, where they were forced to take part in pornography. The women were allegedly controlled by “intimidation, constant surveillance” and claims they were in debt, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors ordered the confiscation of the Tate brothers' assets, including 15 luxury cars, luxury watches and about $3 million in cryptocurrency, the agency’s statement said.
Several women in Britain also are pursuing civil claims to obtain damages from Tate, alleging they were victims of sexual violence. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tate denied spreading a culture of misogyny and accusations that he manipulated women for financial gain.
Catching you up on the entertainment headlines of the day with Justin Timberlake selling his entire musical catalog to IP management firm Hipgnosis, Ellen DeGeneres airing the final episode of her show, Alanis Morissette making a guest appearance on Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ tour, and more.
Cheddar recently teamed up with Amazon Bestseller Jamie Hopkins to explore the term 'Rewirement' while highlighting those who didn't let retirement be the end of their journey... Instead, they used it as a new beginning.
Today, Jamie is speaking with Linda Lombri, a former home economist and marketing executive, and Virginia Cornue, a former cultural anthropologist. For them, retirement didn't mean stopping work--it meant re-inventing themselves and living out their dreams of becoming mystery authors, even though neither had written fiction before. Together, Linda and Virginia began an e-book series, the Sandra Troux Mysteries.
Brightseed Co-Founder Sofia Elizondo breaks down what plant bioactives are, and how they're using the latest technology to study human's biological connections with plants.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Brightseed Co-Founder breaks down what plant bioactives are, and how they're using the latest technology to study human's biological connections with plants; Esper Bionics CEO breaks down how they re creating a mind-controlled bionic hand that guest smarter the more you use it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Capturing A Black Hole In Our Milky Way.'
The number of births in the U.S. increased last year for the first time in seven years. According to a new federal report, about 3.6 million babies were born in 2021, only about a 1% increase from 2020. Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst for creditcards.com, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss why the pandemic baby boom was more like a baby bust, and how to raise kids while on a tight budget.
Following the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead, the debate over gun control has been reignited. While studies have shows most Americans agree on some additional regulations, there hasn't been much legislative traction even as gun violence worsens in the country. Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend The Vote and the former executive director at Brady PAC for gun control, joined Cheddar to discuss reform efforts. "The lawmakers that we have aren't passing these at the federal level," he said. "That's the problem. We have the wrong people in charge."
The crypto industry is still reeling from Terra's recent crash. The company's blockchain was temporarily halted earlier this month after the collapse of its cryptocurrency Luna (LUNA) and its stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which led to almost $45 billion being wiped from the tokens' market caps within a week. Now, many are left wondering what Terra's struggles mean for the broader crypto market. Reeve Collins, CEO of the NFT platform BLOCKv, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell from Davos 2022 to discuss.
China's largest ride-hailing company will no longer be listed on the world's largest stock exchange. Didi shareholders voted on Monday to delist from the New York Stock Exchange, less than a year after launching a $4.4 billion IPO with the most significant U.S. share offering by a Chinese company since Alibaba debuted in 2014. Since going public in June of last year, around $70 billion has been wiped from Didi's market value and shares of the company have dropped nearly 90%. Now, Didi is expected to begin preparations to list in Hong Kong. Kevin T. Carter, founder and Chief Investment Officer of EMQQ Global, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
