The two brothers and two Romanian female accomplices were arrested last month. Apart from human trafficking, the accused were also accused of forming an organized crime group. One was also charged with rape, although authorities declined to identify the man, citing local laws.
The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT, said in a statement on December 29 that it had identified six people who were recruited and then sexually assaulted in Ilfov County, including the capital Bucharest. Is.
Authorities said the victims were forced to participate in pornographic material to distribute on social media, and one of them raped the victim twice in March. The statement, which did not name the suspects, said the victims were subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion”.
Tates was in the country legally, DIICOT spokeswoman Ramona Bola said in a Dec. 30 interview, adding that the investigation began after the U.S. Embassy called Romanian authorities in April with information that a U.S. citizen Being involuntarily placed in a home. Ilfov.
Police said the four suspects organized a group in early 2021, which conspired to smuggle people not only to Romania, but also to the United States and the United Kingdom. A conviction for human trafficking in Romania carries a sentence of three to 10 years. For rape, the sentence can be between five and ten years.
Police previously reported searches of two properties in Elof County in April, in which they said they had seized assets related to the case. Tates’ arrest came after police executed five home search warrants, police said. Bola said the alleged American victim is no longer in the country. The other five alleged victims were Romanians and Moldovans.
Sorcher reported from London, Morris from Erkelins, Germany. Timothy Bella and Kelsey Abels contributed to this report.
