New evidence filed by DIICOT prosecutors in the case of the Tate brothers. Two of the sexually exploited girls were left with psychological trauma
The magistrates of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, who decided to issue the second arrest warrant for Andrew and Tristan Tate, Georgiana Naghel and former police officer Luana Radu, explained, in the motivation of the decision, that the four still represent a public danger. In this sense, the judges presented some new elements, submitted to the file by the DIICOT prosecutors, and showed that, if released, the defendants could influence the statements of some of the victims.
Although lawyers for brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate tried to convince the court that the evidence in the case file submitted by the DIICOT prosecutors was insufficient to support the charges, judges ruled that both the Britons and the two women who allegedly helped them sexually exploit their victims must remain in custody for at least another 30 days.
In the motivation of the decision, the magistrates also mentioned some new elements of the investigation of the DIICOT prosecutors.
After instilling in the victims, the illusion that they were his girlfriends and that he would provide them with a better living, Andrew Tate got them to do videochat and post on TikTok, under the watchful eye of Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu, a former policewoman from the Police Station 7 in Bucharest.
One of the young women who ended up in this situation said that if the girls did not post pornographic content on the OnlyFans platform, they were „fined” by the Tate brothers. Thus, at the time of the raids organized by the anti-mafia prosecutors, she had accumulated so-called debts amounting to 4,000 euros.
Another woman who filed a complaint against the four said she had been scammed by Brits who convinced her that posting video content on TikTok and OnlyFans would earn her large sums of money.
The former policewoman was collecting a quarter of the proceeds
Housed in the building in Pipera where the Tate brothers’ videochat studio had been operating since August 2021, she explained that once she entered the building, she was not allowed to go out unless accompanied. As far as revenue is concerned, there was allegedly no contract signed, only a verbal agreement that she would get half of the earnings on TikTok and OnlyFans.
The woman claims that Luana Radu told her that she was entitled to a quarter of the other half and that the rest belonged to the Tate brothers. The complainant also said that after the first few months, she only received money from what was collected from posts on TikTok, although, she said, she had a lot of activity on OnlyFans. However, the British allegedly told her that they had nothing to pay her, as she was not earning anything from OnlyFans.
The magistrates also revealed that two other victims of the Tate brothers, including the young woman from the USA, lured to Romania by Tristan Tate, submitted a report drawn up by a clinical psychologist, from which it emerges that they were left with traumas after falling into the trap of the Britons accused of human trafficking.
Although it is extrajudicial evidence, the judges of the Bucharest Court of Appeal nevertheless took into account the two medical documents when they decided to keep the four in custody.
On the other hand, with regard to Iasmina and Beatrice, the two girls whom the prosecutors consider to be victims, but who claim to have worked voluntarily for the Tate brothers, the magistrates considered that they were not speaking in full awareness of the facts.
„ Although the named ………… and ………… both in their statements given before the prosecution as witnesses and in authenticated statements given before a notary and filed by the defence in the case file, denied any form of exploitation on the part of the four defendants, the panel of judges considers that these statements do not reflect reality, given that, in the case of the ‘lover boy’ or ‘love’ recruitment method, victims of trafficking in human beings do not always admit that they have been enslaved and exploited and do not cooperate with the judicial authorities, giving the impression that they have been doing so voluntarily”, the court’s motivation states.
Andrew Tate tried to escape arrest on medical grounds
At the same time, the judges also dismantled Andrew Tate’s strategy of trying to escape from custody after claiming a medical condition:
„ With regard to the medical situation invoked by the defendant Andrew Tate, the panel finds that there is no evidence at this stage that the defendant would not benefit from adequate medical treatment in prison or that such treatment could not be provided in the public health system under permanent guard.
Andrew and Tristan Tate are accused of „establishing an organized criminal group in 2021 with a view to committing the crime of trafficking in human beings on the territory of Romania and other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom”.
„ The victims were then transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county where, prin through acts of physical violence and psychological coertion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and the allegation of debts),they were sexually exploited by members of the group by being forced to engage in pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material via social media platforms and by being forced to perform forced labor in order to obtain significant financial benefits consisting in sums of money obtained as a result of users accessing the material”, according to the DIICOT.
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