Andrew Tate's detention on rape, trafficking charges extended in Romania
A court in Romania has ruled that misogynist influencer Andrew Tate can be detained for another 30 days, until February 27, as prosecutors conduct their investigation into charges of organized crime, human trafficking and rape. Tate was initially detained in Romania, alongside his brother and two Romanian women, on December 29.
Friday's ruling was the second extension of Tate's detention granted by the court. The judge decided on December 30 to extend both men's detentions from 24 hours to 30 days. The judge said the extensions were granted to give prosecutors time to build their case.
Tate's lawyers appealed against the previous extension, but the appeal was rejected.
Tate is known for promoting hate speech and misogyny online to his millions of social media followers. He and his associates had been under criminal investigation in Romania since April last year.
The group allegedly formed an organized crime group in early 2021 with "a view to committing" human trafficking in Romania, the U.S. and the U.K. in order to "obtain important financial benefits," prosecutors said.
The suspects were accused of working together "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," according to prosecutors.
The Associated Press reported that the agency responsible for dealing with organized crime in Romania, DIICOT, said it had identified six victims who were sexually exploited and subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" after raids targeting Tate's alleged operation in late December.