1 of 2 | Former professional kickboxer and social media influencer Andrew Tate is escorted by Romanian police officers outside of the Court of Appeal building after a hearing in Bucharest, Romania, in January. On Wednesday, he and his brother were ordered by a Romanian court to be held an additional 30 days, through late April, as investigators look into sex trafficking allegations. Photo by Robert Ghement/EPA-EFE
March 22 (UPI) -- Social media influencer and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will remain in custody in Romania for a fourth month as investigators look into allegations of sex trafficking, a court ruled Wednesday.
The Romanian court extended the Tate brothers' detention for a fourth time, through late April, their legal team confirmed Wednesday as they announced plans to appeal the decision. Under Romanian law, the men can be held up to six months.
The Tate brothers, who are both British-U.S. citizens, and two Romanian women have been held in detention since December after they were arrested in Bucharest on suspicion of organized crime, human trafficking and rape. None have been charged and all four have denied the accusations.
Romania's anti-organized crime agency DIICOT alleges the six victims in the human trafficking case were subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" in addition to being sexually exploited by the group for a paid pornography service on social media platforms.
The judge in the closed court in Bucharest addressed the brothers directly during Wednesday's hearing to solicit their response to the prosecution's claim that they were a flight risk. Lawyers for the brothers argued prosecutors had presented no new evidence and suggested their clients' notoriety played a role in the decision to keep them in custody.
Andrew Tate has lived in Romania since 2017. He has been banned from several social media platforms for misogyny and hate speech.
Wednesday's ruling is the fourth time the court has extended the brothers' detention as investigators gather evidence against them. Andrew Tate has lost three appeals related to his prison stay.
According to the brothers' spokeswoman, the ongoing detention had "irreparably harmed" their image and "would take years to rebuild their reputation," Mateea Petrescu said Wednesday.
The decision to extend their detainment comes days after the court denied the brothers' request to be released on bail. The brothers are appealing that decision as well.
