A Romanian court overruled prosecutors’ plea to hold social media star Andrew Tate in police detention until late April, sending him to house arrest late Friday.
Tate, his brother Tristan, and two Romanian female suspects have been detained since Dec. 29 while authorities investigate them for human trafficking, rape, and organizing a criminal organization to abuse people sexually.
They deny everything.
Tate’s lawyer Eugen Vidineac told reporters that the court ruling was lawful, comprehensive, and accurate.
He warned the brothers could not contact witnesses or leave the premises without permission. “The court’s rationale and additional interdictions remain unknown.”
“We’re coming home,” Tristan Tate told Romanian reporters outside the prison. His brother said nothing.
Twenty-plus Tate fans chanted “Top G” outside the prison.
This week, the same Bucharest appeals court refused the Tate brothers’ bail bid.
Judges have prolonged the Tate brothers’ police detention because they were flight risks and may compromise the probe.
“All four are getting out tonight,” Romania’s DIICOT anti-organized crime unit spokesman Ramona Bolla told Reuters. The inquiry continues.
Bolla said prosecutors had until June to take the suspects to trial.
The four suspects have been charged under Romanian law, but the matter is still being investigated.
Authorities say the Tate brothers seduced their victims and pretended to seek a relationship or marriage. Instead, the victims were forced to create pornographic social media content that made them rich.
Tate, an online influencer and self-described misogynist in Romania since 2017, has millions of admirers, notably young guys lured to his hyper-macho persona.
