[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
It took months of investigation after their arrests, but controversial social media star Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have finally been charged.
As we’ve been reporting, the divisive social media personality and his brother were detained back in December by police in Bucharest, Romania. They were accused at the time of sexually exploiting, trafficking, and assaulting several women.
The Tate brothers had been held in a prison in Bucharest for nearly four months after their arrest. However, on the last day of March, a judge allowed them to move from police custody to house arrest, where they remain now.
Related: Andrew Tate’s Ex-Girlfriend Reveals Disturbing New Allegations Of Control & Abuse
But the case has been moving along even without the brothers in physical custody. And on Tuesday, a major development finally came through. Per the Associated Press, Romanian prosecutors officially filed charges against Andrew and Tristan. The charges are for rape, human trafficking, and forming a gang to exploit women.
Per the prosecutorial statement, Andrew, his brother, and two other defendants are charged with forming a criminal group in 2021 with the purpose of committing “the crime of human trafficking” in Romania, the US, and the UK. Prosecutors say Tate and his co-conspirators allegedly “misled and transported” seven women to Romania, where they were “sexually exploited and subjected to physical violence by the gang.” One of the women also accused one of the defendants of raping her twice in March 2022, per the charging documents.
Andrew and his brother have consistently denied these allegations. Following Tuesday’s charges, Andrew’s Romanian legal rep Mateea Petrescu said the brothers are ready “to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation.” The Romanian advocate 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.”
You can see more on the indictment and the case’s other latest developments from NBC News (below):
Next up for the brothers is a Wednesday morning court date, per the AP. Petrescu told the outlet that Andrew and Tristan will attend that pre-trial appearance in Bucharest. From there, according to Romanian law, a judge has 60 days to assess the charging documents and case files. If he deems the prosecutor’s case worthy, he would then order the defendants to stand trial.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Piers Morgan Uncensored/YouTube/NBC News/YouTube]
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