'I've done nothing wrong': Andrew Tate protests innocence after being freed from house arrest over sex trafficking charges
4 August 2023, 16:20
Andrew Tate has protested his innocence after being freed from house arrest over sex trafficking charges, adding he expects to be "completely exonerated" by Romanian justice system.
Tate, 36, and his brother Tristain and two Romanian women have been released from house arrest today and are now under judicial control, a lighter restrictive measure.
Despite the loosening of restrictions, Tate will still not be allowed to leave Romania.
Speaking from outside his home in Bucharest, Tate said: "We've been completely innocent since the beginning of this, and I have to give absolute faith to the Romanian judicial system for finally making the right decision and letting us free.
"I'm sure in the end we will be absolutely exonerated. I've done nothing wrong, God knows I've done nothing wrong, in my heart, I know I've done nothing wrong.
The social media star added: "I look forward to being completely exonerated in due time."
Earlier this week the brothers were appealing against a court decision made last month to keep them under house arrest for a further 30 days.
Their appearance at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest came after the influencer was formally charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women in June.
Tristan and two Romanian women were charged with human trafficking.
The Bucharest Court of Appeals said in a written ruling that it "replaces the house arrest measure with that of judicial control for a period of 60 days from August 4 until October 2."
Read More: Andrew Tate put under house arrest again as he awaits Romania rape trial with brother
Tate, who was arrested on December 29 in Bucharest and has denied the allegations. He had previously lost a series of appeals against his house arrest.
After spending three months in police detention in Bucharest, the Tate brothers won an appeal on March 31 to be moved to house arrest. In June, Romania’s anti-organised crime agency known as Diicot asked judges to extend the house arrest measure after the agency filed its investigation.
Andrew Tate, who has been accused of peddling conspiracy theories online and has amassed 7.2 million Twitter followers, has repeatedly claimed prosecutors have no evidence against him and there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
Before the court’s decision last month, a post appeared on his Twitter account saying: “There are Matrix agents on all sides of the political spectrum. War is funded. Trump and I are self funded. Basically everyone else is bought and paid for.”
Diicot alleges that 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 US and Britain.
There are seven female victims in the case, Diicot said, who were lured with false pretences of love and transported to Romania, where the gang sexually exploited them and subjected them to physical violence.
One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the agency.
The women were allegedly controlled by “intimidation, constant surveillance” and claims they were in debt, prosecutors said.
Andrew Tate was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.
Several women in Britain also are pursuing civil claims to obtain damages from Tate, alleging they were victims of sexual violence.
