Andrew Tate charged with rape and human trafficking

Andrew Tate and his brother have been charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The Tate brothers, currently under house arrest, have been sent to trial by Romanian prosecutors along with two Romanian female suspects pending a criminal investigation for abuses committed against seven women.

They have so far vehemently denied the accusations.

The four were held in police custody from 29 December until 31 March before a Bucharest court put them under house arrest.

Andrew Tate has also been charged with raping one of the victims, while his brother Tristan has been charged with instigating others to violence.

The trial will not start immediately.

Under Romanian law, the case gets sent to the court’s preliminary chamber, where a judge has 60 days to inspect the case files to ensure legality.

Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited the seven female alleged victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

The former kickboxers who have US and British nationality with millions of online followers, are the highest profile suspects to be sent to trial in Romania for human trafficking.

Andrew Tate was also a contestant on the UK reality show Big Brother and gained notoriety for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.

His remarks got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account became active again in November after Elon Musk acquired the platform and has grown an audience of more than 4.5m followers.

More to follow on this breaking news story...