British-American masculinist influencer Andrew Tate has been released from house arrest in Romania pending trial for human trafficking and placed under judicial supervision, the Bucharest Court of Appeal announced on Friday (August 4th).
His brother Tristan and alleged accomplices, arrested at the same time as him, are also affected by this less restrictive measure, valid “for a period of sixty days, from August 4, 2023 to October 2, 2023 inclusive”, wrote the court.
During this period, the two men, aged 36 and 34 respectively, must report regularly to the police and are not allowed to leave the Bucharest region without the consent of the judge, where they are charged with human trafficking and rape. . They are also prohibited from meeting the two Romanian women co-accused in the case.
Arrested at the end of December, the Tate brothers spent three months in pre-trial detention before being subjected to these conditions which they contested on several occasions. A trial date has not yet been set.
“Acts of physical violence” and “significant financial benefits”
They settled several years ago in Romania and are believed to have formed a network in early 2021 in the Eastern European country, as well as in the United States and the United Kingdom. According to the 370-page prosecution case, seven victims were tricked by the Tates into feigning feelings for them, coerced “by acts of physical violence and psychological coercion” into participating in pornographic films. The videos were then broadcast on platforms, allowing members of the network to derive “significant financial benefits”, according to the prosecution.
Andrew Tate first rose to prominence when he appeared on the UK reality show “Big Brother” in 2016. He was quickly kicked out after a video emerged showing him hitting a woman with a belt. He went on to be the subject of much controversy, including arguing on Twitter (renamed X) that female rape victims “are partly responsible [for the crime they suffered]”.
This former kickboxing champion then turned to social networks where he shows off muscles, cigars and luxury cars, not without success with millions of teenagers who follow him. He promotes masculinist theses and gives advice to men to help them become rich.
