Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been placed under house arrest after spending months in a Romanian jail.
The internet personality, 36 — along with his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women — was detained in December in connection to an investigation dealing with human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for the Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT, told the Associated Press that Andrew challenged a judge’s decision last week that would have extended his arrest a fourth time for 30 days.
On Friday, all four individuals were released and were placed under house arrest until April 29, Bolla told the AP, which reported that none of the individuals have been formally indicted yet.
Tate’s communications director, Mateea Petrescu, told Sky News, “They are not a flight risk, and they are not a danger to public safety, therefore [the authorities] have decided to release them under house arrest.”
Added Petrescu: “[It’s] just a small step — they are still under investigation. They are absolutely ecstatic. They kept their spirits [in jail], they are really thrilled and looking forward to being at home — they have kept their optimism throughout.”
The Tate brothers have been under investigation since April, according to the Romanian daily newspaper Gândul.
The publication said the investigation into the group began after a complaint was received that “a woman with American citizenship was being forcibly held at their residence.”
Several young women were found in a building located about 500 meters from the Bucharest villa, according to the paper. The American woman told investigators she met Tristan through a social media network, and he convinced her to buy a plane ticket to Romania. The woman contacted her ex-boyfriend, who reported the crime to the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest.
Since the investigation began, reported the BBC, six women have been identified by prosecutors as victims.
Making a return to social media the same day, he wrote on Twitter, “4 months without putting on a pair of alligator shoes. The struggle was real.”