The indictment of British-American influencer Andrew Tate has cast a spotlight on Romania's problem with trafficking in women. Victims β increasingly underage girls β are lured with false professions of love. The meeting with Iana Matei feels almost conspiratorial. The town at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains is inviting, but this is only a transfer station. Ihr Browser oder Adblocker verhindert dies momentan.
The journey continues in an all-terrain vehicle through remote villages, and finally up a steep hill to a nondescript family home surrounded by a considerable expanse of land. Twelve girls and young women live here. The youngest is 10, the four oldest will soon be Several of the residents are sitting in the living room in front of a television, and have apparently been waiting for the visit by the home's director.
There is joking, laughter, and news is exchanged. A bit off to the side, a year-old sits with her four-year-old son. They served the local market on the street, in brothels and also via the internet. Most of them come from remote regions. She adds that it is critical that their tormentors do not know where they are. Around kilometers from here, in the Transylvanian town of Sacele, British-American influencer Andrew Tate is alleged to have had his first Romanian residence with his younger brother Tristan.
The two were arrested in December, and charged with trafficking in women in June. State prosecutors of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism additionally accuses both of forming a criminal organization, and alleges that Andrew Tate committed several rapes. The Tate brothers deny this.
Of the seven alleged victims, four are said to have testified, one of whom now lives in Florida. The arrest of internet VIP Andrew Tate made headlines around the world, but also shed light on Romania's problem with trafficking in women. The victims are lured with the so-called loverboy method, which Tate is also said to have used. On social networks, the controversial influencer boasted to his millions of followers that he had women in love with him working for him on pornographic internet platforms.
