The Tate brothers were expected to be physically present at the Bucharest court. Prosecutors are seeking to send the suspects to trial, who could face years in prison if convicted.
“It doesn’t matter what the judge decides [on the longer detention]We will take further steps to investigate this crime, Ramona Bulla, spokeswoman for the Department of Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT, said in a telephone interview.
Romanian prosecutors said in a statement Thursday that they had identified six people who they said were recruited and then sexually abused in Ilfov County, which includes the capital Bucharest.
Authorities allege that the victims were forced to participate in pornography to spread it on social media, and that one of the suspects raped one victim twice in March. The statement, which did not name the Tate brothers or identify the suspects accused of sexual assault, alleged that the victims were subjected to “physical violence and psychological coercion.”
Andrew Tate, who was born in the United States and is also a British citizen, previously said he lives in Romania. Bola confirmed that the Tietzes were in the country legally, and said the investigation began in April after the U.S. Embassy contacted Romanian authorities with information that an American citizen was being held involuntarily at a home in Ilfov. . The embassy in Bucharest did not immediately respond to questions from The Washington Post early Friday.
Police said the four suspects organized a group in early 2021 that conspired to commit human trafficking, not only in Romania, but also in the United States and the United Kingdom. A conviction for human trafficking in Romania can carry a sentence of between three and 10 years. For rape, the punishment can be between 5 and 10 years.
Police previously announced the search of two properties in Ilfov County in April, where they said they seized assets related to the case. Tietz’s arrest came after police executed five search warrants at the home, police said. Bulla said the American victim is no longer in the country. The other five alleged victims were Romanians and Moldovans.
The spokesman for these brothers refused to comment on their arrest. The spokesman said: “Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always help and assist in any way they can.” Talent agent Tate said in an email that the human trafficking allegations were “a hoax orchestrated by Matrix.” A lawyer for Tietz was not immediately identified.
Tweeted on Andrew Tate’s Twitter account early Friday said: “The Matrix sent its agents.”
Photos show Tate being led away in handcuffs by masked law enforcement officers near DIICOT headquarters on Thursday.
In a since-deleted YouTube video reposted on Reddit, Tate said “40 percent” of the reason she moved to the country was because she believed rape cases were under-investigated there.
Tate has been banned from several social media sites – including TikTok, Facebook and Instagram – for posting misogynistic comments. Tate’s Twitter account was re-established after Elon Musk took over the company. Tate tweeted that people who are sexually assaulted “have responsibilities,” arguing that women are the property of their husbands. His fans refer to him as “the king of toxic masculinity”.
In 2016, he was fired from the UK reality TV show Big Brother after a video of him hitting a woman with a belt was released. (Tate reportedly said what happened was consensual.)
His arrest came shortly after he boasted in a tweet to climate activist Greta Thunberg about his 33 cars and “huge greenhouse gas emissions”. Thunberg He told him to live.
Speculation arose on Thursday night that Romanian authorities were able to locate Tate after Thunberg posted a video in response to a pizza box from a local spot showing his location. Bulla denied any role in the arrest or its timing. “Collecting all the evidence” in the months-long investigation was a difficult task, Bola said.
