Internet influencer Andrew Tate will face trial in 2027 on behalf of four women who allege they were physically and sexually assaulted by him, in what lawyers claim is the first British civil action to challenge allegations of coercive control in English law.
The women, who have been granted anonymity, say that Tate abused them between 2013 and 2015. Two of the claimants reported that they were having intimate relationships with Tate, whereas the other two were working for his webcam company. Their lawyers say the abuse included violence, manipulation, and psychological domination.
In court documents, one of the women accuses Tate of threatening to shoot her and warning, “You’re going to do as I say or there’ll be hell to pay.” Another woman accuses Tate of strangling her until she passed out while they were having sex.
Tate, 38, refutes all claims. His lawyers claim that all the sex was consensual and that the women’s allegations are baseless. He did not show up at Tuesday’s preliminary hearing at the High Court, although his lawyer, Vanessa Marshall, said he will give evidence in his own defense at the trial.
The women’s lawyer, Anne Studd, highlighted the legal importance of the case, saying it would be the first UK civil court case to decide if coercive control can amount to an intentional infliction of harm.
Characterized by Studd as “a type of grooming and manipulation,” coercive control can reduce a victim’s ability to respond in a normal way to abuse, she added.
Tate and his brother Tristan are separately still being investigated in Romania for purported offenses such as human trafficking, participating in an organized criminal group, and money laundering charges to which they deny. The brothers came to the US earlier this year after a travel ban in Romania was removed and returned last month to satisfy legal requirements.
