At this point, nothing should surprise me when it comes to accusations against Smallville actress Allison Mack and Keith Raniere, two prominent members of alleged sex cult NXIVM. Over the past year, disturbing reports of sex slaves, diet control, and human branding have come from former members of the cult, as well as an extensive piece in The Hollywood Reporter.
The piece mostly corroborates earlier reports of Mack's deep involvement in the organisation, and allegations that she was instrumental in finding, recruiting, and controlling the women who joined Raniere's inner circle, DOS (Dominus Obsequious Sororium, or Master Over Slave Women), as sex slaves. It also sheds some disturbing light on what exactly Raniere required of these women and what he believed their purpose was. Now, months after the alleged cult made headlines in 2018, NXIVM is back in the news as those allegedly involved in the twisted saga, like Mack, are making their pleas in court.
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But to understand what those pleas mean, let's take a look at some of the most disturbing and wild details in the case.
Keith Raniere allegedly believed women were controlled by his sperm.
Specifically, a former member told THR that Raniere believed the women he had sex with were all connected via his sperm, and this was another way of controlling those in his harem.
"If one woman is having an issue, it hurts Keith, and if he's hurting, you're hurting," a former member explained. "So if you do something he doesn't like, you get an army of women, sister wives, coming after you. You get ostracised. No one wants to socialise with you unless you get back in line."
Keith Raniere allegedly promoted incest and paedophilia.
From early on, the organisation seemed to prime its members for polygamy, but this turned out to be a springboard for Raniere's more controversial views about gender roles and incest.
"Keith said to me multiple times that it was OK for little girls to pleasure their fathers sexually," another former member confessed. "He thought that was fine."
In March 2019, Raniere was handed additional charges of child pornography.
Many believe Allison Mack had been brainwashed.
Many believe she had been totally brainwashed by Raniere's thinking.
"I don't think she was thinking she was actually trafficking girls," a former roommate told THR. "It doesn't mean she doesn't deserve punishment, but I think she had drunk enough Kool-Aid to really believe that these girls were going to save the world with [Raniere's] super-sperm."
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Some former members even suspect she's so devoted to the cause that she'll actually take the fall for the leader, saying he had no-knowledge of the inner-circle where much of the initially reported abuse and branding occurred.
"If Allison testifies that Keith didn't know, that's a crock of shit," Barbara Bouchey, a former girlfriend of Raniere who left NXIVM in 2009, said.
Mack is currently on house arrest with her parents and expected to plead guilty. If convicted, she and Raniere face at least 15 years in prison. Learn the full details of the current NXIVM trial here.
Co-founder Nancy Salzman plead guilty to federal racketeering charges and more.
In March, co-founder Nancy Salzman plead guilty to the federal racketeering charges, as well as “unlawfully surveil[ling]” perceived "enemies" of NXIVM by obtaining user names and passwords of their email addresses, according to the New York Times.
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