Fox News Flash top headlines for August 4
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Social media influencer Andrew Tate has been released from house arrest in Romania Friday as he awaits trial on rape and human trafficking charges.
The Bucharest Court of Appeals in the eastern European country’s capital ruled that it "replaces the house arrest measure with that of judicial control for a period of 60 days from August 4 until October 2," according to Reuters.
Under the new measures, Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women who have been indicted on the charges can leave their homes, but not Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov County, the news agency reports, adding that they must check often with police and are restricted from visiting the alleged victims.
Prosecutors said in June that the Tate brothers, who are dual British-U.S. citizens, allegedly recruited seven female victims "by misleading them about the intention to establish a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of real feelings of love (the loverboy method)."
ANDREW TATE INDICTED ON RAPE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES IN ROMANIA
Andrew Tate speaks to media after being released from house arrest and put under judicial control measures, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Friday, August 4. (AP/Alexandru Dobre)
The victims were later transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov County, where they were subjected to acts of physical violence and mental coercion "through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts," prosecutors say.
Members of the group allegedly sexually exploited the victims, who were forced to perform pornographic acts on camera for dissemination on social media platforms, according to a statement from Romania’s largest anti-organized crime agency, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
The four defendants are accused of forming a criminal group in 2021 "in order to commit the crime of human trafficking" in Romania as well as other countries, such as the United States and Great Britain.
"We've been completely innocent since the beginning of this, and I have to give absolute faith to the Romanian judicial system for finally making the right decision of letting us free," Tate was quoted by Reuters as saying Friday outside of his home in Bucharest. "I'm sure in the end we'll be absolutely exonerated."
ANDREW TATE RELEASED FROM ROMANIAN JAIL
Andrew Tate touches his beard after leaving the Bucharest Tribunal, in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday, April 21. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
A judge is currently reviewing files in the case before it heads to trial.
Prosecutors have ordered the confiscation of the Tate brothers' assets, including 15 luxury cars, luxury watches and about $3 million in cryptocurrency, DIICOT's statement said in June.
Tate, 36, has resided in Romania since 2017. The former professional kickboxer, who has garnered millions of followers online promoting a luxurious, "alpha-male" lifestyle, has repeatedly claimed that Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and has alleged that the case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
Young fans and media surround Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan as they leave a police detention facility in Bucharest, Romania, after release from prison on Friday, March 31. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, says the brothers are prepared to "demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation."
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.