Two young women who denied being trafficked by Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan did not understand they were being enslaved because they were brainwashed, a Romanian court ruled.
The two women both claimed they volunteered to work for Andrew and Tristan Tate, but a report prepared by a clinical psychologist says they were both traumatized and failed to realize they were being exploited.
Andrew Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group to exploit women.
The brothers and their alleged accomplices – separately from the two named in the clinical psychologist’s report – appeared before the Bucharest court yesterday, where their appeal against a judge’s decision to extend their detention a second time was dismissed.
The clinical psychologist’s assessment was described as extra-judicial evidence, but judges at the Bucharest Court of Appeal took the report into account in yesterday’s decision.
Police officers escort Andrew Tate (second from left), who is handcuffed to his brother Tristan Tate, to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, February 1, 2023
Andrew Tate arrives handcuffed and escorted by police at a Bucharest courthouse on February 1, 2023
One of the two women was originally from the United States and had been lured to Romania by Tristan Tate, the court heard.
Romanian prosecutors considered the two women victims of the Tate brothers, although they claimed they volunteered to work for the two men.
The judges considered the clinical psychologist’s report and ruled that they did not knowingly speak and had been brainwashed by their exploitation.
The court said it was due to the brothers’ recruitment process, which involved getting their alleged victims to “fall in love” with them, where they falsely claimed they wanted a relationship or marriage.
The Romanian court ruled: “Although the named [woman one] and [woman two]both in the testimonies before the law enforcement authorities as witnesses and in the certified testimonies before the notary and submitted by the defense to the files, denied any form of exploitation by the four accused, the Collegial Council of Rights and Freedoms recognizes that these testimonies are not reflect reality.
“It is known that with the ‘loverboy’ or ‘by falling in love’ method of recruitment, victims of human trafficking do not always recognize their enslavement and exploitation and do not cooperate with the judicial authorities, which testifies that these activities were carried out voluntarily.”
As Tate was escorted with his brother alongside the alleged female accomplices from the Bucharest Court of Appeal yesterday, he called out to reporters, “You will soon learn the truth about this case,” on February 1, 2023
Former kickboxer Andrew Tate (left) and his brother Tristan (second right) leave court with police cars after their trial in Bucharest, Romania February 1, 2023
The Tate brothers and their alleged accomplices Georgiana Naghel and Launa Radu continue to deny any wrongdoing.
As Tate was escorted along with his brother alongside the alleged female accomplices from the Bucharest Court of Appeal yesterday, he yelled at reporters: “You will soon learn the truth in this case”.
The self-proclaimed misogynist insisted there was “no evidence” he had exploited young girls and forced them to create pornographic content on webcams.
“Ask them for evidence and they won’t give you any because there isn’t any,” Tate shouted as he was escorted from court into a police car. “You will soon learn the truth about this case.”
According to yesterday’s court decision, the four will remain in custody until February 27.
Romanian prosecutors said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming they wanted a relationship or marriage.
The victims were then taken to properties on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, and forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites, which generated large financial gains, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors can now ask the courts to extend suspects’ detention by up to 180 days.
According to yesterday’s court decision, the four will remain in custody until February 27.
Andrew Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group to exploit women
The two Tate brothers moved into a converted warehouse in Romania in 2017, surrounded by armed guards.
In the Safehouse on the outskirts of Bucharest, the Tate brothers had a video chat studio where several women were found during a police raid in April 2022.
Prosecutors allege the brothers lured women into the studio, where they were subjected to “acts of physical violence and psychological coercion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and appeal of alleged debt)” to sexually exploit them and trick them into producing pornographic material and to share.
Andrew Tate is also accused of raping a Moldovan in March 2022, whom he claims followed him from London, which he categorically denies.