What Is Category A? Andrew Tate Accused of Possessing 66 Files in UK's Most Serious Classification

The infamous 'manosphere' influencer Andrew Tate is facing allegations involving 66 Category A indecent files of a 17-year-old girl, placing the alleged material in the UK's most serious classification.

According to reports, the claims appear in court documents filed as Britain seeks Tate's extradition from the United States. Prosecutors allege that police recovered 168 images and videos after his 2015 arrest in Hertfordshire. However, Tate denies wrongdoing.

Category A: UK's Most Serious Classification

The term 'Category A' describes the highest severity of indecent images of children under sentencing guidelines.

According to the Sentencing Council, it covers images involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal or sadism. Category B covers non-penetrative sexual activity, while Category C includes other indecent images that do not meet the definitions of the two higher categories.

The distinction matters because the category of an image is one of the factors courts use when assessing the seriousness of an offence. For these offences, UK law treats anyone under 18 as a child.

The classification does not itself establish that Tate committed an offence. The files and circumstances described in the extradition documents are allegations that would have to be tested in criminal proceedings.

Prosecutors Allege 66 Category A Files in Tate Case

The documents allege police found 168 indecent images and videos involving the girl on a phone and laptop seized from Tate's home in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, after his arrest in July 2015.

Of that material, prosecutors allegedly classified 66 files as Category A and another 26 as Category B. The girl was 17 at the relevant time, according to the filings, while Tate was 28.

Prosecutors allege he knew she was underage, with her passport among the items recovered from his home. At least one video allegedly shows Tate with the girl in a sexualised context.

Prosecutors also accuse him of distributing footage through a WhatsApp group in June 2015, where messages allegedly discussed her work in his webcam business. According to reports, the documents state that the girl had travelled to Britain in 2014 and began working for the business soon afterwards.

Tate has denied the allegations and maintains that his sexual relationships with women were consensual.

Extradition Case Revives 2015 Allegations Against Tate

The image allegations are part of a much broader British case that the United States is pursuing through extradition proceedings.

The Crown Prosecution Service has previously confirmed charges against Tate, including rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain. Additional charges relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography were authorised.

Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested in Miami in July 2026 after British authorities sought their extradition. Tristan Tate faces separate charges and has also denied wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, the CPS has stressed that criminal proceedings against the brothers are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.

That difference is particularly important as details from the extradition filings become public. Category A explains how prosecutors classify the alleged material and its seriousness under UK guidelines. Whether Tate possessed, made or distributed those files remains an allegation for a court to determine.