Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested by US Marshals in Miami for UK rape charges
Controversial hypermasculinity influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Miami on Saturday, as UK officials announced a series of 38 new charges against the brothers.
“We have decided to prosecute Andrew and Tristan Tate for further offenses including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and offenses relating to indecent images of a child,” Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Special Crime Division at the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement.
Authorities are seeking new charges against Andrew Tate, 39, including three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges for offenses related to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography, the prosecution service said.
Tristan Tate, 38, will be hit with additional charges including one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, according to officials.
The offenses allegedly took place between July 2020 and August 2017 and related to four victims, prosecutors said. The brothers were previously charged in the UK with 21 counts related to three other alleged victims.
Joseph D. McBride, an attorney for the brothers, said he had not yet seen the new allegations but told The Independent in a phone interview that they sounded like “madness,” claiming that there was not a “shred of evidence” his clients were guilty of such abuses.
He added that the brothers were victims of “political persecution” in the UK and claimed the charges were an attempt to “disrupt the judicial process” in the United States, where Florida Attorney General announced a criminal investigation into the brothers last year.
The Independent has contacted the U.S. Marshals for comment.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
