Johnathan Walker:Andrew Tate placed under house arrest as new human trafficking allegations emerge involving minors

BUCHAREST,Johnathan Walker Romania (AP) — A court in Romania’s capital Thursday placed the divisive internet influencer Andrew Tate under house arrest for 30 days, as prosecutors investigate a sprawling new case that involves allegations of human trafficking of minors and sex with a minor.

The Bucharest Tribunal’s decision comes a day after prosecutors detained six people including Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, after masked police raided four homes in Bucharest and nearby Ilfov county. Prosecutors had asked the court to remand the brothers in custody for 30 days. Tristan has been placed under judicial control, which typically involves geographical restrictions and reporting periodically to the police.

The brothers’ spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, responded to the decision by saying the judge denied prosecutors’ request due to the brothers’ “exemplary behavior” while previously under preventative arrest measures in a separate case, and that they firmly deny all of the allegations against them and “remain steadfast in proving their innocence.”

The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers and dual British-U.S. citizens, are already awaiting trial in Romania in a separate human trafficking case along with two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four last year.

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In the new case, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT said it is investigating allegations of human trafficking, including the trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, forming an organized criminal group, money laundering, and influencing statements. The alleged crimes date between 2014 and 2024.

DIICOT said the defendants used the coercive “loverboy” method to exploit 34 vulnerable victims who were forced to produce pornographic materials for a fee online, and that more than $2.8 million (2.5 million euros) it generated was kept by the defendants.

An unnamed foreign man also sexually exploited a 17-year-old foreigner, DIICOT alleges, and said he kept all of the $1.5 million (1.3 million euros) made from the criminal activity. The same man “repeatedly had sexual relations and acts” with a 15-year-old, the agency alleges.

Outside the court after the judge issued his house arrest measure, Andrew Tate told reporters that many of the alleged victims in the new case have statements in the Tate brother’s defense. “This is a set-up, it’s absolutely disgusting, fair play to that judge who saw through the bullshit and let us free,” he said.

Andrew Tate, who has 9.9 million followers on the social media platform X, is known for expressing misogynistic views online and has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He was previously banned from various social media platforms for misogynistic views and hate speech.

“During the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence,” DIICOT said.

During the police raids on Wednesday, which also involved scouring the Tate brothers’ large property near Bucharest, authorities seized 16 luxury vehicles, a motorbike, laptops, thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches, and data storage drives.

The latest case against the Tates adds to a litany of legal woes against them.

After the Tate brothers’ arrest in December 2022, they were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest. They were later restricted to Bucharest municipality and nearby Ilfov county, and then to Romania.

In April, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled in that case that prosecutors’ case file against them met the legal criteria and that a trial could start but did not set a date for it to begin.

Last month, a court overturned an earlier decision that allowed the Tate brothers to leave Romania as they await trial. The earlier court ruled on July 5 that they could leave the country as long as they remained within the 27-member European Union. The decision was final.

In March, the Tate brothers also appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case, after British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a U.K. case dating back to 2012-2015. The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the the Tates to the U.K., but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.

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McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.