Bucharest (dpa) – The main trial against the British-American influencer Andrew Tate (37), his brother Tristan (36) and two accomplices who were in Romania young women are said to have sexually exploited, can begin. The appeal court in Bucharest has legally rejected all objections raised by the accused in the preliminary proceedings. The objections were based on formalities. A date for the start of the main process was initially not given.
In Romania, the Tates are accused of forcing young women to take part in commercially distributed sex videos. They used manipulation techniques such as the so-called lover boy method to make the girls dependent on themselves. In an initial indictment from June 2023, the brothers and their alleged accomplices were accused of rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal organization.
The Tates and their alleged accomplices were arrested for the first time on December 30, 2022 near Bucharest. This measure was later converted into house arrest, after which they were released on the condition that they not leave the country. In August this year, a court ordered Andrew Tate back to house arrest after a brief arrest.
34 women identified as victims
By August of this year, the public prosecutor's office had identified a total of 34 women, including a 15-year-old, as victims. Three of them appear as civil plaintiffs in the trial. By exploiting the women, the brothers are said to have made criminal profits of at least $2.8 million (2.5 million euros). The two brothers deny all allegations.
Report at news.ro, Romanian
