Romanian Court Extends Detention of Former Kickboxer Andrew Tate in Rape, Human Trafficking Case

Reuters
By Reuters
December 30, 2022Europe
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BUCHAREST—A Romanian court agreed late on Friday to extend the detention of Andrew Tate by 30 days, after the divisive internet personality was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group.

The former professional kickboxer and his brother Tristan were detained on Thursday for an initial 24 hours alongside two Romanian suspects, prosecutors from the anti-organized crime unit said after raiding their properties in Bucharest.

Prosecutors had then petitioned the court to extend their detention.

Commenting on the court decision, Tate’s lawyer Eugen Constantin Vidineac told reporters: “From our perspective, there are no grounds … for taking this most drastic preventive measure, but it is the judge’s prerogative.”

Andrew Tate
Andrew Tate is escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest (DIICOT) in Bucharest, Romania, on Dec. 29, 2022. (Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Reuters)

Prosecutors said the Tate brothers had been under criminal investigation since April.

“The four suspects … appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing, and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost,” the prosecutors said in a statement late on Thursday.

“They would have gained important sums of money.”

Prosecutors said they had found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.

Tate, who was born in the United States, holds U.S. and British nationality. The U.S. State Department confirmed that it was aware of the case. Britain’s Foreign Office said it had not been approached for consular assistance over the case.

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