In light of their propensity to target women, a Romanian judge referred to Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan as “particularly hazardous.”
He also emphasized their “ability and endeavor to exercise permanent psychological control over the victims… especially by resorting to constant acts of violence,” which he defined as their “capacity and effort.”
The judge explained his justifications for extending the boys’ incarceration last week in a written statement from the main court in Bucharest.
Two Romanian ladies who have a strong relationship with Tate and his brother are also being detained- Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu
The detention was justified by the necessity to control social tensions and public order surrounding this case, it stated, in addition to preserving the investigation and guaranteeing the suspects’ attendance at any subsequent trials.
The Tates will remain in detention for an additional 30 days, or until February 27, as authorities look into rape and human trafficking claims. Both contest the accusations.
The judge emphasized in his explanation that the Tate brothers were able to spot weak targets and “consider them to be the criminals, rather than the traffickers who make enormous profits by exploiting them.”
In his statement, he mentioned the charges made by the prosecution that the Tates compelled women they hired to work constantly for 12 hours with just a five-minute break.
All of the alleged victims in this case “asked the defendant[s] for attention and affection,” which was made conditional on them engaging in activities that would bring the brothers money, according to the document, which also described behavior consistent with the “loverboy method” frequently used by traffickers to lure women into the sex industry for profit.
This justification for the brothers’ continuing arrest is the most eloquent illustration of the evidence so far offered by the prosecution.
The judge’s statement acknowledged that the prosecution had not “completely defined” the facts of the case, but noted that this did not disprove “a reasonable suspicion” that the defendants had committed the offenses they were under investigation for, making their detention acceptable.
The four allegedly made up an organized criminal group in early 2021, according to investigators, that was formed to “recruit.. shelter and transport victims…in order to obtain significant sums of money by compelling victims to participate in pornographic events” that were posted on websites like TikTok and Only Fans.
Andrew Tate repeated his innocence earlier this week as the brothers were brought in for computer searches by Romania’s organized crime section. He told journalists that the case file against him was “totally empty.”
The two men’s social media accounts have remained active even though they have been detained.
The following week is expected to see an appeal against their continued detention.
