After years of emotionally and physically abusing countless women, on 27th October, NXIVM founder Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison. Last year, he was charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child, and human trafficking last year. And during the hearing, India Oxenberg, who joined NXIVM when she was 19 a decade ago, faced her abuser head-on and vehemently denounced him.
Raniere co-founded NXIVM in 1998 with former hypnotherapist Nancy Salzman. The organisation was pitched as a self-improvement programme and grew to encompass more than 60 subsidiaries with over 17,000 people, but a secret sect of the company called DOS was later exposed as being a dangerous cult-like sects that used coercion in order to control women and make them sex slaves for Raniere, who is referred to as “Vanguard”.
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A total of 15 women victims testified before the judge, one of whom was Oxenberg. The daughter of Dynasty TV actress Catherine Oxenberg and granddaughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, India recalled “the horror of hearing his voice in the darkness’’ as Raniere ordered her to strip naked and have sex with him. “Waiting naked like a piece of meat, a branded, brainwashed sex slave,’’ India said. “You raped me,’’ she added. Raniere convinced many of these victims to get his initials branded on their skin, which is something India can’t ever rid herself of. “I may have to live the rest of my life with Keith Raniere’s initials,’’ she said. India also talked about other tactics he used to brainwash her, calling herself Raniere’s “human science experiment.’’ According to India, he severely restricted her diet to keep her "looking like a 12-year-old” and deprived her of sleep.
India also said that Raniere tried to turn her against her own family, and convinced India that her mother, who was trying to save her from NXIVM, was a “psychopath.” “You tried to destroy my family by turning me against my own mother,” India said.
Catherine posted on Instagram in support of her daughter, with a caption that reads: “My darling India is in court today, reading her victim impact statement. i am sending love and support. it is the first time she will get to address her abuser Keith Raniere - a man who lacks any moral compass. Finally he is held accountable for his crimes. Praying for life with no parole 🙏🏻 Let no one be harmed by him again.”
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Despite the horrors recounted in the sentencing trial, this powerful testimony comes in a time where India’s voice has been louder than ever. Following HBO’s docuseries The Vow about the infamous sex cult, which focused a lot on Catherine’s mission to rescue her daughter, India is telling her story in her own words, thanks to Starz’s own four-part documentary series, Seduced: Inside The NXIVM Cult.
A method that Raniere famously used to reinforce gender roles and to make women insecure was to call them "princesses" who felt they were entitled, whiny and needed to be coddled. In a powerful moment during the hearing, India turned Raniere's words against him, calling him "entitled little princess" to his face.