Documents that surfaced in a US court Monday show British police accusing brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate of drawing women to Romania with romantic overtures, then pressuring them into online pornography through threats and violence.
A Bedfordshire Police detective wrote the summaries, which give the fullest public account yet of the British prosecution. Britain’s embassy in Washington delivered them to US authorities last month with other documents backing its extradition requests.
Read: UK’s Formal Extradition Request for the Tate Brothers Reaches the State Department
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The detective wrote that Andrew convinced vulnerable women he was involved with to move to Romania, promising them income from his webcam business. The summary says the women then depended on the brothers financially, and the brothers frequently took their passports.
Prosecutors say that the brothers controlled the women through violence and the threat of it, including sexual violence.
Britain has not given the defense the accusers’ names, so the accusations cannot be “meaningfully tested,” said Joseph McBride, the brothers’ lawyer. He argued that a US court should not hand the brothers to Britain on accusations from people the defense cannot identify.
Both brothers deny wrongdoing, and neither has yet stood before a British judge.
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Read: Defense’s New Filing Says Tate Brothers Are Only Pretending To Be ‘Uber Wealthy’
The Federal Detention Center in Miami has held the brothers since their July 18 arrest, and US Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis denied them bail on September 9. They face 59 UK charges combined, including rape and trafficking. Andrew faces 42 and Tristan 17.
On Thursday, Louis gave both sides seven days to suggest dates for the final extradition hearings, and the court has not yet set one. She has not consolidated Tristan’s case with Andrew’s, so the brothers could get separate dates and separate rulings.
A US judge first decides whether the case meets the extradition treaty, and the brothers can challenge an adverse ruling. Secretary of State Marco Rubio then makes the final call on surrender. The White House said in July it would not intervene.
Read: 59 Charges Await Tate Brothers as White House Stays Out of Extradition
In Romania, prosecutors indicted Andrew Tate in early September on charges that include trafficking minors and money laundering, and indicted Tristan Tate for complicity. Romanian courts have not set a trial date.
