Andrew Tate charged with possessing child abuse images

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Andrew Tate will face charges of rape, sex trafficking and pornography, including charges related to indecent images of a child.

The 39-year-old social media influencer was arrested alongside his brother Tristan on Saturday after the Crown Prosecution Service issued a string of new sex abuse charges against them.

The brothers appeared in a federal courtroom in Miami on Monday, where lawyers said they would fight extradition to the UK.

Andrew Tate is facing seven counts of rape, three counts of sex trafficking, three counts of assault and 19 more charges relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography”.

His younger brother will face one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of sex trafficking.

At the hearing, the Tates wore light brown prison uniforms and were handcuffed and shackled at the waist and ankles. They spoke only to acknowledge they understood their rights, to which they replied: “Yes, your honour.”

According to federal court complaints, the brothers face 38 new charges from incidents involving four women that occurred between July 2010 and August 2017.

Officials have accused both brothers of choking women, sometimes until they passed out, and then raping them.

According to unsealed documents, Andrew Tate repeatedly placed one woman in choke holds until she passed out, then raped her during an alleged attack at her home in Bedford in 2015.

Another woman alleged that he had visited her home in Manchester and choked her to the point that “she was afraid Tate was going to kill her”.

The complaint alleged that Tristan Tate regularly choked, beat and raped a woman with whom he was in a romantic relationship in 2012 and 2013.

The woman told authorities that he regularly choked her into unconsciousness, gave her a black eye and whipped her with a belt, causing welts and bruises.

‘It’s a stitch-up job’

Joseph D McBride, the Tates’ lawyer, told reporters that his clients were innocent. He said: “They’ve never done nothing wrong. They shouldn’t be extradited for crimes they didn’t commit. It’s garbage. It’s a stitch-up job.”

He compared the charges to the legal proceedings against Donald Trump, which he called a “witch-hunt”, and referred to the attempted extradition as “political kidnapping”.

Asked how long the extradition proceedings would take, Mr McBride estimated before the hearing that it would be “around 60 days”. The brothers will remain in custody in Florida until their next court hearing on July 27.

Andrew Tate was already facing 10 charges, including three of rape, four of actual bodily harm, two of human trafficking and one count of controlling prostitution for gain.

His younger brother was previously facing 11 charges, including three counts of rape, six counts of actual bodily harm and two counts of human trafficking.

The Tate brothers have been living in Romania since 2016, where they are also facing a criminal investigation involving allegations of human trafficking, rape, forming an organised criminal group and money laundering.

The brothers, who hold joint US and British nationalities and boast of connections with the Trump administration, can challenge the extradition request in the courts. The final decision on extradition would have to be made by the Trump administration.