BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, a social media personality known for expressing misogynistic views online, appeared Wednesday in a court in Romania, where prosecutors have charged him with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women.
The former professional kickboxer and his brother, Tristan, who also was charged, arrived at the court in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, flanked by six bodyguards. Tate, 36, has denied wrongdoing and said in a brief statement that he was being “unfairly attacked.”
Reporters outside asked him, “How much money have you made from trafficking women?” Tate, whose social media posts included photos of luxury cars and displays of wealth, snapped: “Zero.”
Prosecutors also have filed charges against two Romanian women in the case. Romania’s anti-organized crime agency alleges the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as in the United States and Britain.
The agency alleged that seven female victims were misled and transported to Romania, where the gang sexually exploited and subjected them to physical violence. One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the agency.
Tate and his brother both hold dual British-U.S. citizenship. Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said Tuesday that the two were prepared to “demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation.”
“Tate’s legal team are prepared to cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities, presenting all necessary evidence to exonerate the brothers and expose any misinterpretations or false accusations,” Petrescu said.
All four suspects were detained in late December in Bucharest. The brothers won an appeal on March 31 to be moved from police custody to house arrest. Prosecutors ordered the confiscation of their assets, including 15 luxury cars, luxury watches and about $3 million in cryptocurrency, the agency’s statement said.
Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, known as DIICOT, said the seven alleged victims were recruited with false declarations of love and taken to Romania’s Ilfov county, where they were forced to take part in pornography. The women were allegedly controlled by “intimidation, constant surveillance” and claims they were in debt, prosecutors said.
As a successful social media personality, Tate acquired more than 6 million Twitter followers, many of them young men and teenage boys. He previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.
He returned to Twitter last year after the platform’s new CEO, Elon Musk, reinstated Tate’s account.
Several women in Britain also are pursuing civil claims to obtain damages from Tate, alleging they were victims of sexual violence. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tate denied spreading a culture of misogyny and accusations that he manipulated women for financial gain.