Andrew Tate accused of rape and human trafficking missing near the “Titanic”: submarine search with adventurers

Misogyny influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been charged with “human trafficking, rape and organized crime” in Romania. The public prosecutor, charged with combating organized crime, announced this on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old British-American citizen was arrested in late December after several months of investigation. He and his 34-year-old brother remain under house arrest, the statement said. They were imprisoned for three months.

The loverboy method

The two brothers and two other suspects were arrested on December 30, 2022 in Voluntari, a suburb of Bucharest. Prosecutors allege that Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women formed an organized crime group to sexually exploit women. They allegedly forced young women to participate in commercially distributed sex videos.

They would have used the so-called loverboy method: they used manipulation techniques to make the girls dependent on themselves. Some victims allegedly threatened and blackmailed them. One of the Tate brothers’ two suspected Romanian accomplices was a former police officer. Six victims have now been identified. The Tate brothers deny the allegations.

When they were arrested, investigators discovered weapons and large sums of money in the home of the Tate brothers, including a gorilla figurine made from US dollar banknotes. Ten properties and 15 luxury cars owned by the Tates in Romania were later seized. From the Bucharest arrest, Andrew Tate complained about prison conditions: “Cockroaches, lice and bedbugs are my only friends at night,” he said.

Andrew Tate rose to fame in 2016 when he was kicked off Britain’s Big Brother show after a video of him beating a woman with a belt broke. As an influencer, he staged himself with misogynistic statements. In the UK and beyond, he is regarded as the epitome of so-called “toxic masculinity”.

Attack on Greta

Shortly before his arrest in Romania, Tate attacked climate activist Greta Thunberg, drawing the attention of millions of people. In a tweet he sent to Thunberg, he boasted about the number of his cars. “Please give me your email address so I can send you a full list of my car collection and its massive emissions,” he wrote.

However, the pioneer of the global climate protection movement Fridays for Future quickly responded: “Yes, please inform me, write me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com.” (i.e. as much as “little-dick-power” @ “don’t you have anything better to do?”). Her post received more than 3.4 million “likes” – the former kickboxer’s post, on the other hand, only got a good 213,000. (sda/dpa)

(sda/red)