Two women who insisted they worked for Andrew Tate were brainwashed, Romanian judges rule

Two young women who denied being trafficked by Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan did not understand they had been enslaved because they had been brainwashed, a Romanian court has ruled.

The two women both claimed they voluntarily worked for Andrew and Tristan Tate, but a report prepared by a clinical psychologist said they had both suffered trauma and failed to acknowledge 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 female accomplices – separate from the two outlined in the clinical psychologist’s report – appeared in court in Bucharest yesterday, where their appeal against a judge’s decision to extend their arrest for a second time, was rejected.

The clinical psychologist’s assessment was described as extrajudicial evidence, but the judges of the Bucharest Court of Appeal did take the report into consideration in yesterday’s decision.

Andrew Tate arrives handcuffed and escorted by police at a courthouse in Bucharest on February 1, 2023

One of the two women was originally from the US and had been attracted to Romania by Tristan Tate, the court heard.

Romanian prosecutors considered the two women victims of the Tate brothers, despite their claim that they voluntarily worked for the two men.

The magistrates took into account the clinical psychologist’s report and ruled that they were not speaking knowingly and were brainwashed by their exploitation.

The court said this was due to the brothers’ recruiting process to make their alleged victims “fall in love” with them, falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

The Romanian court ruled: ‘Although the said [woman one] and [woman two]both in the statements made before the investigative authorities, as witnesses, and through the certified statements made before the notary and submitted by the defense to the file, denied any form of exploitation on the part of the four defendants, the collegiate panel of rights and freedoms states the appreciate that these statements do not reflect reality.

It is known that with the ‘loverboy’ or ‘by falling in love’ recruiting method, the victims of trafficking do not always acknowledge that they have been enslaved and exploited and do not cooperate with legal authorities, reflecting the idea that these activities were voluntary executed.’

As Tate was escorted from the Bucharest Court of Appeals yesterday along with his brother alongside the alleged female accomplices, he shouted to reporters: ‘You will soon find out the truth of this case’, 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 on February 1, 2023

The Tate brothers and their alleged accomplices, Georgiana Naghel and Launa Radu, continue to deny any allegations.

As Tate and his brother were escorted from the Bucharest Court of Appeals yesterday alongside the alleged female accomplices, he shouted to reporters, “You will soon find out the truth of this case.”

The self-declared misogynist insisted there was “no evidence” that he was exploiting young girls and forcing them to create pornographic content on webcams.

“Ask them for evidence and they won’t give you any because it doesn’t exist,” Tate yelled as he was escorted from court to a police van. “You will soon discover the truth of this matter.”

After yesterday’s court ruling, the four will now remain in custody until February 27.

Romanian prosecutors said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want 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 that generated large financial profits, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors can now ask the courts to extend the suspects’ detention to a maximum of 180 days.

After yesterday’s court ruling, the four will now 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

In 2017, the two Tate brothers moved into a converted warehouse in Romania, which was surrounded by armed guards.

In the safe house 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 to the studio where they were sexually exploited through “acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through harassment, constant surveillance, scrutiny, and recourse to alleged guilt),” and forced to use pornographic material. produce and share.

Andrew Tate is also accused of raping a Moldovan woman, who he claims followed him from London in March 2022, which he categorically denies.