Masculinist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been indicted in Romania for “organizing a criminal group, human trafficking and rape”, the prosecutor’s office in charge of the fight against organized crime announced on Tuesday.
Arrested at the end of December after several months of investigation, the 36-year-old American-British remains under house arrest, like his 34-year-old brother, the statement said.
The two men are suspected of having formed a network in early 2021 in Romania, but also in other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the same source.
Seven victims have been identified by investigators. They were tricked by the Tate brothers, who simulated feelings towards them (the so-called “loverboy” method), before being forced “by acts of physical violence and psychological coercion” into the production of pornographic films, detailed the prosecutors.
Three of them filed civil suits.
Regarding the acts of rape, they were committed twice by one of the suspects, according to the prosecution in charge of the fight against organized crime.
Two Romanian women, who had been arrested at the same time, were also charged. It is an ex-police officer as well as the girlfriend of Andrew Tate.
The two brothers, who claim their innocence, have been under house arrest near the capital Bucharest since the end of March in connection with this case, after three months in pre-trial detention.
Andrew Tate is also the subject of sexual violence charges in the United Kingdom, for facts dating back to 2013-2016.
He first became known by participating in the reality show Big Brotherin the United Kingdom, in 2016. But he was quickly eliminated after the broadcast of a video showing him hitting a woman.
He then turned to social media where he shows off his bulging muscles, smoking cigars, mesmerizing millions of teenagers with his luxury cars.
He promotes masculinist theses and gives advice to men to help them become rich. His name is one of the most searched on Google.
He has been suspended in the past from several social networks for misogynistic remarks. His Twitter account, now followed by nearly seven million subscribers, was restored when billionaire Elon Musk bought the social network.