&#8220;Smallville&#8221; actress <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/former-smallville-actress-speaks-out-before-sentencing-for-role-in-sex-cult-biggest-mistake-and-regret-of-my-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Allison Mack</a> said she first joined the notorious sex cult NXIVM because she believed the organization&#8217;s co-founder could help her to reinvigorate her career.
Mack initially made the comments during a 2017 interview with Vanessa Grigoriadis — but they resurfaced in a Monday podcast, &#8220;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-new-case-the-nxivm-sex-cult/id1652941051?i=1000591419148" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Infamous: Inside America’s Biggest Scandals</a>,&#8221; which featured Grigoriadis and Gabriel Sherman.
&#8220;I moved to Albany to fill that emptiness and find the soul of myself again, if that makes sense, as it had fizzled,&#8221; Mack said of her move to the NXIVM headquarters. She went on to explain that she had even asked the cult&#8217;s co-founder Keith Raniere whether he could help her to reinvent her career.
&#8220;I asked Keith if he would help me become a great actress again because I felt like I was a fraud,&#8221; she said.
Initially billed as a self-help group, NXIVM was created in 1998 by Raniere, 62, and Nancy Salzman, 68 — but things began to go south when former members began to tell stories about being branded with Raniere&#8217;s initials and about younger female members being recruited and forced to sleep with him.
Mack denied all of that in the 2017 interview, telling Grigoriadis that she had never helped to recruit new partners for Raniere and insisting that, despite warnings from friends who believed NXIVM was a cult, she believed she was making the right choices.
&#8220;I’m not recruiting young, nubile women to be his sex slaves,&#8221; Mack said, arguing that people were just making baseless accusations. &#8220;You know, it’s ‘The Crucible,’ it’s the McCarthy trials, it’s just like, throwing accusations and spreading like wildfire.&#8221;
When her friends began to grow concerned for her, Mack said that although she did find herself occasionally questioning her own judgment, she pushed back.
&#8220;I’m like, &#8216;Talk to me for a few minutes. Let me tell you what we’re doing,'&#8221; she said, adding that her friends did not seem convinced: &#8220;&#8216;No, you’re brainwashed, you’re sick.'&#8221;
&#8220;I just was like walking with myself and I was going like, &#8216;Am I crazy? Am I one of these awful people that you read about that does horrible things and thinks that she’s doing things for God?&#8217; I had a lot of conversations with myself like that,&#8221; Mack revealed.
The actress <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/breaking-smallville-actress-allison-mack-pleads-amanda-prestigiacomo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleaded guilty</a> in 2019 to charges saying that she did, in fact, assist in manipulating women into becoming Raniere&#8217;s sex slaves. She was sentenced to three years behind bars. Raniere was sentenced in 2019 to 120 years — and <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/09/appeals-court-upholds-sentences-for-nxivm-sex-cult-leader-keith-raniere/?_gl=1*no2fo1*_ga*MTkzMTkwODE1Ni4xNjY3OTUyODk2*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*MTY3MjI1NTE4Ny4yMDYuMS4xNjcyMjU2NzU4LjAuMC4w&amp;_ga=2.33937377.1598016361.1670171891-1931908156.1667952896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost his most recent appeal</a> in early December.

Actress Allison Mack Appears In Court Over Case Involving Alleged Sex Cult

‘Smallville’ Actress Claims She Joined Sex Cult To Jump-Start Her Career

'Smallville' Actress Allison Mack Claims She Joined Sex Cult To Jump-Start Her Career 

Allison Mack

Celebrities

NXIVM

Religion

Television

U.S.

On Wednesday, former “Smallville” star Allison Mack, 38, was <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9741007/Allison-Mack-sentenced-three-years-role-NXIVM.html">sentenced to three years</a> in prison for assisting in the recruitment of sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.
Mack could have received up to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2019 to racketeering and conspiracy charges; she had asked for leniency that would have permitted her to be sentenced to home confinement or probation. She assisted in the investigation of Raniere, prompting prosecutors to aver that her sentence should be less severe than the minimum 14 years federal guidelines suggested.
Mack apologized in court, saying, “I made choices I will forever regret. … I&#8217;m filled with remorse and guilt. I renounced Keith Raniere and all of his teachings. From the deepest part of my soul, I am sorry.”
But one of Raniere’s victims, Jessica Joan, told the court, “Shine light on who Allison Mack really is. Allison is a predator, a danger to society, and has no remorse for her victims. … She is the Ghislaine Maxwell to Keith&#8217;s Jeffrey Epstein. She can blame Keith all she wants, but she is the menace cut from the same cloth. She sought me out like a predator stalking her prey… Allison Mack and Keith Raniere are the most evil monsters I&#8217;ve ever met.”
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who called Mack “a willing and proactive ally” of Raniere, countered, “In Nxivm language, you are a slave as well as a master. It&#8217;s hard to determine a sentence for a defendant who is also her co-conspirator&#8217;s victim. … Your punishment should serve as a forceful deterrent and a serious sentence is important, but I don&#8217;t doubt that you were also manipulated.”
India Oxenberg, another victim of Raniere’s, told <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/india-oxenberg-ex-nxivm-member-reacts-allison-mack-sentencing-1234975924/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>, “I&#8217;m still in a state of disbelief, but I trust and honor the judge&#8217;s decision. I hope that her victims, including myself, feel vindicated and safer, given that she has denounced Keith Raniere. We all need time to process and digest everything. This is a big moment for all of us.”
In 2018, Mack was arrested in Mexico, where she and Raniere had gone to evade prosecution. Last October, Raniere, 60, was sentenced to 120 years behind bars, but Raniere still stated, “I do believe I am innocent of the charges. &#8230; It is true I am not remorseful of the crimes I do not believe I committed at all,” as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nxivm-sex-cult-leader-keith-raniere-sentenced-120-years-behind-n1244919">NBC News</a> reported.
Judge Nicholas Garaufis stated that Raniere was “ruthless and unyielding” in crimes that were “particularly egregious,” adding that his actions were &#8220;cruel, perverse and extremely serious. Despite everything that has happened and despite the countless victims who have given voice to their great pain, Mr. Raniere remains unmoved. Indeed, he maintains his innocence. To him, the brave victims who have spoken out about the abuse suffered at his hands — including those who spoke today — are liars,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/27/us/nxivm-keith-raniere-sentencing-supporters/index.html">CNN reported</a>.
“After the victims’ statements, Mr. Raniere’s lawyer, Mr. Agnifilo, argued that his client never intended to hurt any women, saying he was in love with them and simply had trouble dealing with breakups. In a stunning moment, Judge Garaufis interrupted Mr. Agnifilo in the middle of his speech, yelling, ‘No!’ Garaufis added, ‘It’s an insult to the intelligence of anyone who listens,’” according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/nyregion/nxivm-cult-keith-raniere-sentenced.html">The New York Times</a>.
Prosecutors wrote that since his conviction in 2019, Raniere remained &#8220;unrepentant&#8221; with &#8220;no empathy for his victims … In his communications with his supporters, Raniere repeatedly attempts to cast himself as a victim of persecution and harassment from the government and from unknown enemies.”
Raniere founded NXIVM in 1998; over the next 19 years, 17,000 people were recruited. A sub-sect named DOS included women as his sexual slaves and under his strict control. The indictment against Raniere stated:
<blockquote>DOS operates as a pyramid with levels of “slaves” headed by “masters.” Slaves are expected to recruit slaves of their own (thus becoming masters themselves), who in [turn] owe service not only to their own masters but also to masters above them in the DOS pyramid. Raniere alone forms the top of the pyramid as the highest master. Other than Raniere, all participants in DOS are women. Raniere&#8217;s status as head of the pyramid was concealed from all newly recruited slaves, other than those directly under Raniere.</blockquote>
Oxenberg, a DOS &#8220;slave,&#8221; stated she was &#8220;instructed&#8221; to seduce Raniere and branded with Raniere&#8217;s initials, adding, &#8220;I was branded with a cauterizing pen. This extremely painful procedure lasted for over 30 minutes and took months to heal. I may have to live the rest of my life with Keith Raniere&#8217;s initials seared to my flesh. I am not sure how I will ever be able to fully put this behind me.&#8221;
She continued, &#8220;I was totally frozen, leaving my body so (that) I didn&#8217;t have to be with you when you would rub your fingers across my brand without me knowing it was your monogram you gazed and smiled at.”

Actress Allison Mack Attends Court Over Sex Trafficking Charges

‘Smallville’ Star Allison Mack Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison In Sex-Slave Cult Case

Allison Mack, best known for playing Chloe Sullivan on “Smallville,” is about to be sentenced for her role in recruiting and blackmailing women into joining the NXIVM sex cult.
In a letter to the court, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/allison-mack-speaks-out-days-before-sentencing-nxivm-cult-1234974428/">obtained</a> by The Hollywood Reporter, Mack addressed “those who have been harmed by my actions,” apologizing for what she had done.
“It is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry,” she wrote.
“I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had,” she added. “I believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him. This was the biggest mistake and regret of my life.”
Mack added that she would dedicate the rest of her life to undoing the harm her actions have caused.
Her attorneys argued in a memo that the actress be spared prison time because she has recognized that she “committed grievous wrongs and that she has earned her punishment.”
“That is made clear by Ms. Mack’s plea allocution, her decision to cooperate completely and fully with the government, and is further underscored in her letter to this Court as well as her efforts to demonstrate her remorse to the public generally and more specifically to those she harmed. There is thus no need to impose an additional sentence of incarceration on Ms. Mack to achieve specific deterrence,” she added.
THR reported that “Mack was arrested in 2018 and charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy.” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-smallville-actress-allison-mack-pleads-amanda-prestigiacomo">reported</a> in 2019 that Mack pleaded guilty to manipulating women into joining the cult and becoming sex slaves for its leader, Keith Raniere.
Mack said at the time that Raniere told her to obtain “compromising information and images” for two women in order to threaten them into performing “acts of love” with Raniere.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/6cfea4d3f5d642e1bc11da464bb99930?utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">reported</a> in 2019: “Court papers allege NXIVM formed a secret society of women who were branded with Raniere’s initials and forced to have sex with him. Defense attorneys have insisted any relationship between Raniere and the alleged victims, including an unidentified actress and other women expected to testify against him at trial, was consensual.”
Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison for his crimes.
The Daily Wire previously reported on messages Mack sent to “Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson and singer Kelly Clarkson, in what appeared to be attempts to recruit them into NXIVM. As The Daily Wire reported:
<blockquote>For example, Mack tweeted messages to Watson on two occasions in 2016, appealing to the “Harry Potter” star’s noted feminist sensibilities.
“I’m a fellow actress like yourself &amp; involved in an amazing women’s movement I think you’d dig. I’d love to chat if you’re open,” posted Mack.
Another tweet from the actress directed at Watson read, “I participate in a unique human development &amp; women’s movement I’d love to tell you about. As a fellow actress I can relate so well to your vision and what you want to see in the world. I think we could work together. Let me know if you’re willing to chat.”
Addressing Clarkson in 2013, Mack tweeted, “I heard through the grapevine that you’re a fan of Smallville. I’m a fan of yours as well! I’d love to chat sometime.”</blockquote>
Mack is supposed to be sentenced on June 30.

Former ‘Smallville’ Actress Speaks Out Before Sentencing For Role In Sex Cult: ‘Biggest Mistake And Regret Of My Life’

TV star Allison Mack pleaded guilty on Monday to charges concerning her involvement with a &#8220;sex slave cult&#8221; known as NXIVM. Mack, an alleged victim-turned-victimizer of the cult, pleaded guilty to manipulating women into becoming sex slaves for leader Keith Raniere.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Allison Mack just left federal court in Brooklyn. She entered a plea to racketeering charges in connection to an alleged sex cult called NXIVM. She&#8217;s accused of recruiting sex slaves for its spiritual leader, Keith Raniere. <a href="https://t.co/hI5xR387xf">pic.twitter.com/hI5xR387xf</a>
&#8212; Kevin Rincon (@KevRincon) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevRincon/status/1115299703539814400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I believed Keith Raniere&#8217;s intentions were to help people &#8230; and I was wrong,&#8221; Mack told a judge at a federal court in Brooklyn, <a href="https://apnews.com/6cfea4d3f5d642e1bc11da464bb99930?utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">according</a> to the Associated Press.
&#8220;I know I can and will be a better person,&#8221; the actress added.
Mack claimed Raniere had her obtain &#8220;compromising information and images&#8221; of two women, who have not been named, and threaten them with leaking the sensitive information if they did not perform &#8220;acts of love&#8221; with Raniere.
&#8220;Court papers allege NXIVM formed a secret society of women who were branded with Raniere&#8217;s initials and forced to have sex with him. Defense attorneys have insisted any relationship between Raniere and the alleged victims, including an unidentified actress and other women expected to testify against him at trial, was consensual,&#8221; the AP report said.
Mack, who will now avoid trial with Raniere, is set for sentencing on September 11.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/node/45703/edit">reported</a> by The Daily Wire last April, Mack was rumored to be one of the cult&#8217;s top recruiters. Past tweets from the actress, directed at high-profile Hollywood figures like actress Emma Watson and singer Kelly Clarkson, seemingly reveal some of her recruitment tactics.
For example, Mack tweeted messages to Watson on two occasions in 2016, appealing to the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; star&#8217;s noted feminist sensibilities.
&#8220;I&#8217;m a fellow actress like yourself &amp; involved in an amazing women&#8217;s movement I think you&#8217;d dig. I&#8217;d love to chat if you&#8217;re open,&#8221; posted Mack.
Another tweet from the actress directed at Watson read, &#8220;I participate in a unique human development &amp; women&#8217;s movement I&#8217;d love to tell you about. As a fellow actress I can relate so well to your vision and what you want to see in the world. I think we could work together. Let me know if you&#8217;re willing to chat.&#8221;
Addressing Clarkson in 2013, Mack tweeted, &#8220;I heard through the grapevine that you&#8217;re a fan of Smallville. I&#8217;m a fan of yours as well! I&#8217;d love to chat sometime.&#8221;
Another actress and former member of the alleged sex cult, Sarah Edmondson, recalled having to &#8220;bow&#8221; to Raniere, whom she and others refered to as &#8220;Vanguard.&#8221;
&#8220;You know that&#8217;s a red flag,&#8221; <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xwaaxd/why-i-joined-a-secret-society-that-branded-me">wrote</a> Edmondson in a piece for VICE Canada, &#8220;but it was easily explainable: Everyone has titles&#8212;doctors have titles, and sensei has a title. We refer to people based on what they&#8217;ve earned. Vanguard&#8217;s earned this title, and it means leader of a philosophical movement. Nothing weird about that. We wear sashes. But sashes are just like in martial arts. Nothing weird about that. So everything that I had an issue with was easily explained away.&#8221;
&#8220;I thought this was the key to success and happiness,&#8221; she recalled feeling early on. &#8220;But there was also this nugget that they left you with&#8212;that there was this problem with you that you had to resolve, and of course, that required more trainings. So even though I felt empowered there was always this recognition that I had to evolve this thing within myself to be fully happy. It almost created a dependency.&#8221;

‘Smallville’ Actress Allison Mack Pleads Guilty To Charges In ‘Sex Slave Cult’ Case

Crime

Hollywood

In a court hearing Wednesday, Michael Avenatti, the embattled former lawyer of porn star Stormy Daniels, was confirmed to have been involved in yet another controversial, high-profile case: the NXIVM &#8220;sex cult&#8221; case involving the heiress of the Seagram&#8217;s fortune, Clare Bronfman, and former &#8220;Smallville&#8221; star Allison Mack (pictured above). Also involved in the case is Avenatti&#8217;s alleged &#8220;co-conspirator&#8221; in the Nike &#8220;shakedown&#8221; federal case, Mark Geragos, one of the lawyers representing &#8220;Empire&#8221; actor Jussie Smollett.
The hearing was held in response to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45103/more-details-emerge-about-avenattis-alleged-james-barrett">two federal lawsuits</a> filed against Avenatti, one of which involved an unnamed co-conspirator, who multiple reports say is Geragos. Both celebrity attorneys, it was confirmed Wednesday, had represented Bronfman. Avenatti&#8217;s role appears to have been brief and came just a few days before he was charged for allegedly trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. Geragos continues to represent Bronfman.
&#8220;U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered today&#8217;s hearing following twin criminal complaints filed Monday against Avenatti in New York and California,&#8221; <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/avenatti-intrigue-dominates-at-hearing-on-cult-like-nxivm/">Courthouse News</a> reported Wednesday. &#8220;&#8230; Garaufis ordered Bronfman, co-defendant Keith Raniere [the leader of NXIVM] and all of their attorneys to appear in court this afternoon.&#8221;
&#8220;Based on your review of the government&#8217;s letter, are you aware that according to attorney Mark Agnifilo, the individual referred to in the complaint as CC-1 is your attorney, Mark Geragos?&#8221; Judge Garaufis asked Bronfman, referring to a letter from Agnifilio, Raniere&#8217;s attorney.
Bronfman&#8217;s representative Donna Newman responded by downplaying the claims against Geragos as hearsay. The judge then asked specifically if Avenatti is representing Bronfman. &#8220;Did she retain Mr. Avenatti to represent her in this case, yes or no?&#8221; Garaufis asked, prompting Bronfman&#8217;s team to confer, at which point Bronfman appears to have blacked out, dramatically ending the Wednesday hearing.
When the hearing reconvened Thursday, Bronfman told the court that Avenatti had briefly served as &#8220;a consultant&#8221; on the case but no longer had &#8220;any role in either that case, or in a civil matter pending in upstate New York where he also had served as a consultant, according to Bronfman and her other attorney, Donna Newman,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/28/michael-avenatti-was-consultant-for-seagrams-heiress-clare-bronfman.html">CNBC</a> reports.
Newman informed the court in a letter Thursday that Avenatti had been brought in by Geragos as a consultant for just a &#8220;matter of days&#8221; and for a &#8220;limited&#8221; purpose. &#8220;The exact nature of [Avenatti&#8217;s] representation was not formalized or documented,&#8221; wrote Newman, CNBC reports. &#8220;His services on her behalf with any action have been terminated,&#8221; the letter states.
CNBC reports that Geragos and Avenatti met with prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Eastern District of New York on March 19 to discuss Bronfman&#8217;s criminal case; what was discussed is unknown. Bronfman has been charged with alleged identity theft and money laundering connected to NXIVM, CNBC reports.
While NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman has pleaded guilty to racketeering, actress Allison Mack and Salzman&#8217;s daughter Lauren Salzman have pleaded not guilty to charges brought against them. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29701/smallville-actress-arrested-alleged-involvement-james-barrett">The Daily Wire</a> has reported, Mack has been accused of leading Raniere&#8217;s alleged &#8220;sex slave&#8221; cult within NXIVM, which allegedly involved luring women into the secret society and coercing them into having sex with Raniere through blackmail information, humiliating photos, and other psychological means.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/31153/more-disturbing-details-come-light-about-sex-cult-james-barrett">More Disturbing Details Come To Light About &#8216;Sex Cult&#8217; Tied To &#8216;Smallville&#8217; Star</a>

Confirmed: Avenatti Consulted For Backer Of Alleged ‘Sex Cult’ Involving ‘Smallville’ Star

Michael Avenatti

In an interview with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/magazine/sex-cult-empowerment-nxivm-keith-raniere.html">New York Times Magazine</a> conducted this winter but published for the first time this week, Allison Mack, the former &#8220;Smallville&#8221; star who was recently arrested for her involvement in an alleged &#8220;sex slave cult,&#8221; admitted that the horrific branding ritual for initiates in the secret sorority of the NXIVM &#8220;self-help&#8221; group was her idea.
The Times&#8217; newly published piece includes interviews with former members of the sorority (DOS, which stands for &#8220;dominant over submissive&#8221;) as well as with the leaders of the cult, including Keith Raniere (called &#8220;Vanguard&#8221; by followers) and Mack. The piece offers an inside look at the group not previously granted by its leaders.
Mack, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29701/smallville-actress-arrested-alleged-involvement-james-barrett">arrested</a> in April on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor, for which she is reportedly considering a plea deal, told the Times that the &#8220;sorority&#8221; was really about &#8220;female empowerment.&#8221;
DOS, she <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/sex-cult-female-empowerment-group-allison-mack-said-nxivm-sorority-women-coming-together-210017221.html">said</a>, is &#8220;about women coming together and pledging to one another a full-time commitment to become our most powerful and embodied selves by pushing on our greatest fears, by exposing our greatest vulnerabilities, by knowing that we would stand with each other no matter what, by holding our word, by overcoming pain.&#8221;
She said that through the group, she was able to find her &#8220;spine&#8221; and the &#8220;sorority&#8221; is designed to help other women take on challenging things to develop their own backbone. &#8220;I found my spine, and I just kept solidifying my spine every time I would do something hard,&#8221; she said.
The idea of branding initiates with a cauterizing pen, she said, was her idea. &#8220;I was like: &#8216;Y&#8217;all, a tattoo? People get drunk and tattooed on their ankle &#8216;BFF,&#8217; or a tramp stamp,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I have two tattoos and they mean nothing.'&#8221; By branding each other, they would be able to better demonstrate their commitment to the group.
The brand contains the initials of Raniere and Mack: KR and AM. Below is an image posted by the NXIVM whistleblower site <a href="https://frankreport.com/">Frank Report:</a>
[[{&#8220;fid&#8221;:&#8221;32611&#8243;,&#8221;view_mode&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;fields&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false},&#8221;type&#8221;:&#8221;media&#8221;,&#8221;field_deltas&#8221;:{&#8220;1&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false}},&#8221;attributes&#8221;:{&#8220;class&#8221;:&#8221;media-element file-default&#8221;,&#8221;data-delta&#8221;:&#8221;1&#8243;}}]]
Mack was one of the leaders of DOS as well as one of it biggest recruiters. As The Daily Wire noted, over the years Mack has attempted to reach out to other female celebrities to draw them into the group, often presenting it in feminist terms (in fact, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29821/here-are-messages-alleged-sex-slave-cult-leader-james-barrett">here are the messages she sent to Emma Watson and Kelly Clarkson</a>).
One of the former DOS members to come forward publicly is actress <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0249550/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Sarah Edmondson</a> (pictured below in 2009), who recounted in shocking detail the brainwashing techniques and the tortuous initiation process she experienced in a piece published by <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xwaaxd/why-i-joined-a-secret-society-that-branded-me">Vice</a> in November 2017.
What started out as a self-empowerment group took increasingly darker turns after the leaders implemented their new &#8220;collateral and penance&#8221; program for &#8220;level two&#8221; members of NXIVM. &#8220;For women, penance was largely about calories. I remember there was one woman I saw once on a 300-calorie diet, because of some breach she had done,&#8221; Edmondson writes.
<div>
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<div><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt="Sarah Edmondson attends the Tastemakers Lounge Day 2 held at the Intercontinental Hotel during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2009 in Toronto, Canada." data-delta="1" height="632" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/sarah_edmondson_gi.jpg" width="999" /></div>
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The process soon became explicitly sexual, with the &#8220;collateral&#8221; often being nude photos of the women along with other sexually related blackmail material. Then Edmondson was introduced by her mentor Lauren Salzman to the new group that would eventually be headed up by Mack, the alleged &#8220;sex slave&#8221; sorority. After completing 10 eight-day training sessions, Edmondson was invited to receive her &#8220;tattoo.&#8221; Here&#8217;s her account of the brutal initiation:
<blockquote>
The concept of the master/slave relationship was weird for me, but the main thing was that I didn&#8217;t want to get a tattoo. I don&#8217;t have any tattoos, and I don&#8217;t have any piercings other than my ears&#8212;I didn&#8217;t want to get a tattoo. And Lauren just said, &#8220;We&#8217;ll work with you on that&#8212;you just have some fears.&#8221;&#8230; I put the blindfold on, and I hear movement in the house. I know the other girls are coming. And then there I am sitting with four other women. All of them I knew from Nxivm. Not well&#8212;I hadn&#8217;t seen them naked. And now we&#8217;re just sitting there cross-legged, very much exposed, and very vulnerable. We all thought it weird, but Lauren just said, &#8220;Guys, get over it. Get over your body issues. It&#8217;s no big deal. We&#8217;re a sorority. We&#8217;re a sisterhood&#8212;relax.&#8221; &#8230;
And then Dr. [Danielle] Roberts came in, who I also knew from Nxivm. We took turns holding one another down&#8212;three would be on them and the fourth would be filming. This is all on camera somewhere. The first woman lay on the table and then the other women and I were sitting on her holding her legs down. With the first cut of her flesh&#8212;they burned her flesh&#8212;we were crying, we were shaking, we were holding one another. It was horrific. It was like a bad horror movie. We even had these surgical masks on because the smell of flesh was so strong. I felt petrified. I felt&#8212;every part of my body was like: Get out of here. Run&#8230;
The entire time I was thinking, I don&#8217;t have a car. I&#8217;m naked. I&#8217;m in Knox Woods, Clifton Park. What am I going to do, text my husband? Then I&#8217;m going to blow this thing up, and I can&#8217;t do that, because I made a vow of secrecy&#8230; How do I do this? And then I just said, F**king do it, just do it. So I watched two other people, then I went. I really believe that the only way to get out is to do what I did&#8212;disassociate. I wasn&#8217;t present mentally. I went somewhere else. I thought about giving birth to my son, I thought about how much I loved him, and I thought about being strong, and I just focused on that. I just brought up a loving state, a really strong loving state. And the pain [of the burn] oh my God, imagine someone taking a lit match to your crotch and drawing a line with it.
</blockquote>
Related:
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28845/report-another-smallville-actress-allegedly-james-barrett">Report: Another &#8216;Smallville&#8217; Actress Allegedly Once Connected To NXIVM &#8216;Cult&#8217;</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/31153/more-disturbing-details-come-light-about-sex-cult-james-barrett">More Disturbing Details Come To Light About &#8216;Sex Cult&#8217; Tied To &#8216;Smallville&#8217; Star</a>

sarah_edmondson_gi

‘Smallville’ Actress: Branding Members Of ‘Secret Sorority’ Was My Idea

Keith Raniere

Sexual Abuse

In the first episode of A&amp;E&#8217;s &#8220;Cults and Extreme Belief&#8221; series, a former high-ranking member of the notorious NXIVM &#8220;philosophical society,&#8221; who was initiated into its secret &#8220;sex slave&#8221; sorority, tells her story, bringing more dark details about the cult to light.
The cult has again come under heightened public scrutiny after the arrest of the cult&#8217;s alleged leaders <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28709/fbi-arrest-alleged-sex-cult-leader-connected-james-barrett">Keith Raniere</a> (whom his followers call &#8220;Vanguard&#8221;) and &#8220;Smallville&#8221; star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29701/smallville-actress-arrested-alleged-involvement-james-barrett">Allison Mack</a>, who allegedly headed up the secret sorority. Authorities ramped up pressure on the group following the publication of an expose by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur">The New York Times</a> in October 2017, which included allegations from actress <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0249550/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Sarah Edmondson</a>.
A&amp;E&#8217;s new series <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-nxivm-member-sarah-edmundson-171049789.html">features Edmondson</a>, who presents some of her story to host Elizabeth Vargas. Describing the &#8220;Jness&#8221; track of NXIVM, which she says cost her $15,000 for three eight-day training sessions specifically designed for women to learn about &#8220;who we are at our core,&#8221; Edmondson tells Vargas that the overarching point of the indoctrination overseen by Raniere and Mack was that women need to be subservient to men.
[[{&#8220;fid&#8221;:&#8221;33806&#8243;,&#8221;view_mode&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;fields&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:&#8221;Sarah Edmondson attends the Tastemakers Lounge Day 2 held at the Intercontinental Hotel during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2009 in Toronto, Canada.&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:&#8221;Photo by Sonia Recchia/WireImage&#8221;},&#8221;type&#8221;:&#8221;media&#8221;,&#8221;field_deltas&#8221;:{&#8220;1&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:&#8221;Sarah Edmondson attends the Tastemakers Lounge Day 2 held at the Intercontinental Hotel during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2009 in Toronto, Canada.&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:&#8221;Photo by Sonia Recchia/WireImage&#8221;}},&#8221;attributes&#8221;:{&#8220;alt&#8221;:&#8221;Sarah Edmondson attends the Tastemakers Lounge Day 2 held at the Intercontinental Hotel during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2009 in Toronto, Canada.&#8221;,&#8221;title&#8221;:&#8221;Photo by Sonia Recchia/WireImage&#8221;,&#8221;class&#8221;:&#8221;media-element file-default&#8221;,&#8221;data-delta&#8221;:&#8221;1&#8243;}}]]
&#8220;In the process of understanding our indoctrination, he is slipping in a new indoctrination,&#8221; said Edmundson of Raniere. &#8220;I actually remember the last training I took with Jness. I was like, &#8216;Wow, I&#8217;m not obedient enough.'&#8221;
After The New York Times broke the story open, Edmondson wrote a detailed account published by <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xwaaxd/why-i-joined-a-secret-society-that-branded-me">Vice</a> in November in which she recounted her nightmarish experiences in the cult, which began with an innocuous invite to a self-help group that got increasingly controlling and twisted the deeper into the indoctrination program followers like Edmondson went.
Edmondson said that sometime in 2011 or 2012, NXIVM implemented its Human Pain program, an eight-day &#8220;level two&#8221; training program that introduced the ideas of &#8220;collateral and penance,&#8221; which required you to do certain predetermined acts of penance for failing to meet goals. &#8220;For women, penance was largely about calories. I remember there was one woman I saw once on a 300-calorie diet, because of some breach she had done,&#8221; Edmondson says. &#8220;She was only eating mashed frozen zucchini and tomato stew.&#8221;
Things took a darker, more overtly sexual turn when the actress was asked to take nude photos as &#8220;collateral&#8221; by the daughter of the president of the company, Lauren Salzman, who was also Edmondson&#8217;s &#8220;confidante&#8221; and the godmother of her son. Salzman told the actress that she was going to introduce her to a new program exclusively for women. This was the horrific inner group for which Mack allegedly <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/29821/here-are-messages-alleged-sex-slave-cult-leader-james-barrett">helped recruit</a> and oversaw, and for which Raniere indoctrinated the women to become his &#8220;submissive&#8221; sex slaves. After 10 eight-day training sessions, Edmondson received her &#8220;tattoo.&#8221; Here&#8217;s her horrifying account of the initiation:
<blockquote>
The concept of the master/slave relationship was weird for me, but the main thing was that I didn&#8217;t want to get a tattoo. I don&#8217;t have any tattoos, and I don&#8217;t have any piercings other than my ears&#8212;I didn&#8217;t want to get a tattoo. And Lauren just said, &#8220;We&#8217;ll work with you on that&#8212;you just have some fears.&#8221;&#8230; I put the blindfold on, and I hear movement in the house. I know the other girls are coming. And then there I am sitting with four other women. All of them I knew from Nxivm. Not well&#8212;I hadn&#8217;t seen them naked. And now we&#8217;re just sitting there cross-legged, very much exposed, and very vulnerable. We all thought it weird, but Lauren just said, &#8220;Guys, get over it. Get over your body issues. It&#8217;s no big deal. We&#8217;re a sorority. We&#8217;re a sisterhood&#8212;relax.&#8221; &#8230;
And then Dr. [Danielle] Roberts came in, who I also knew from Nxivm. We took turns holding one another down&#8212;three would be on them and the fourth would be filming. This is all on camera somewhere. The first woman lay on the table and then the other women and I were sitting on her holding her legs down. With the first cut of her flesh&#8212;they burned her flesh&#8212;we were crying, we were shaking, we were holding one another. It was horrific. It was like a bad horror movie. We even had these surgical masks on because the smell of flesh was so strong. I felt petrified. I felt&#8212;every part of my body was like: Get out of here. Run.
</blockquote>
Edmondson describes herself dissociating as she underwent the excruciating process of being branded:
<blockquote>
The entire time I was thinking, I don&#8217;t have a car. I&#8217;m naked. I&#8217;m in Knox Woods, Clifton Park. What am I going to do, text my husband? Then I&#8217;m going to blow this thing up, and I can&#8217;t do that, because I made a vow of secrecy&#8230; How do I do this? And then I just said, F**king do it, just do it. So I watched two other people, then I went. I really believe that the only way to get out is to do what I did&#8212;disassociate. I wasn&#8217;t present mentally. I went somewhere else. I thought about giving birth to my son, I thought about how much I loved him, and I thought about being strong, and I just focused on that. I just brought up a loving state, a really strong loving state. And the pain [of the burn] oh my God, imagine someone taking a lit match to your crotch and drawing a line with it.
</blockquote>
Below is an image of the brand via the whistleblower site the <a href="https://frankreport.com/">Frank Report</a>:
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Mack, who along with Raniere has been charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor, is reportedly <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/04/23/allison-mack-smallville-actress-charged-sex-cult-considered-flight-risk/542229002/">negotiating</a> with prosecutors over a plea deal.
Related: 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29821/here-are-messages-alleged-sex-slave-cult-leader-james-barrett">Here Are The Messages Alleged &#8216;Sex Slave Cult&#8217; Leader Allison Mack Sent To Emma Watson And Kelly Clarkson</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29701/smallville-actress-arrested-alleged-involvement-james-barrett">&#8216;Smallville&#8217; Actress Arrested For Alleged Involvement In &#8216;Sex Cult&#8217;</a>

More Disturbing Details Come To Light About ‘Sex Cult’ Tied To ‘Smallville’ Star

Following the arrest of two of the leaders of the group, more disturbing details have come to light about the NXIVM (&#8220;Nexium&#8221;) cult of Keith Raniere, whom his followers called &#8220;The Vanguard.&#8221; One of Raniere&#8217;s alleged victims-turned-victimizers, &#8220;Smallville&#8221; actress Allison Mack, was reportedly one of the cult&#8217;s primary recruiters and eventually headed-up Raniere&#8217;s secret &#8220;sex slave&#8221; sorority. Newly-resurfaced tweets by Mack show her attempts to lure fellow female entertainers into the cult through personal appeals and feminist rhetoric.
One of Mack&#8217;s more high-profile targets was Emma Watson, whom Mack messaged twice in 2016, appealing to Watson&#8217;s much-publicized feminism. In the first message, Mack describes the sorority she leads &#8212; which authorities say used brainwashing, blackmail and torture to keep women loyal &#8212; as &#8220;an amazing women&#8217;s movement.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m a fellow actress like yourself &amp; involved in an amazing women&#8217;s movement I think you&#8217;d dig. I&#8217;d love to chat if you&#8217;re open,&#8221; Mack <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/691113581228728321">tweeted</a> the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; star in January 2016. About a month later, Mack again <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/700790212813651968">reached out</a> to Watson: &#8220;I participate in a unique human development &amp; women&#8217;s movement I&#8217;d love to tell you about. As a fellow actress I can relate so well to your vision and what you want to see in the world. I think we could work together. Let me know if you&#8217;re willing to chat.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
.@EmWatson I&#8217;m a fellow actress like yourself &amp; involved in an amazing women&#8217;s movement I think you&#8217;d dig. I&#8217;d love to chat if you&#8217;re open.
&#8212; Allison Mack (@allisonmack) <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/691113581228728321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet"></div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
.@EmWatson I participate in a unique human development &amp; women&#8217;s movement I&#8217;d love to tell you about. As a fellow actress I can relate so&#8230;
&#8212; Allison Mack (@allisonmack) <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/700790212813651968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet"></div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
.@EmWatson well to your vision and what you want to see in the world. I think we could work together. Let me know if you&#8217;re willing to chat
&#8212; Allison Mack (@allisonmack) <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/700790438869884928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
</div>
As <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5650473/Sex-cult-leader-Allison-Mack-tried-recruit-Emma-Watson-Kelly-Clarkson-Nxivm-sect.html">The Daily Mail </a>points out, Mack also reached out to singer Kelly Clarkson a few years earlier. Mack kept her invitation extremely vague, simply saying she&#8217;d love to &#8220;chat sometime.&#8221;
&#8220;I heard through the grapevine that you&#8217;re a fan of Smallville. I&#8217;m a fan of yours as well! I&#8217;d love to chat sometime,&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/358639409538662403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5650473%2FSex-cult-leader-Allison-Mack-tried-recruit-Emma-Watson-Kelly-Clarkson-Nxivm-sect.html">tweeted</a> Clarkson in July 2013.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/kelly_clarkson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kelly_clarkson</a> I heard through the grapevine that you&#8217;re a fan of Smallville. I&#8217;m a fan of yours as well! I&#8217;d love to chat sometime.
&#8212; Allison Mack (@allisonmack) <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonmack/status/358639409538662403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2013</a></blockquote>
</div>
Another famous figure once connected to Raniere&#8217;s group was Mack&#8217;s fellow &#8220;Smallville&#8221; star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28845/report-another-smallville-actress-allegedly-james-barrett">Kristin Kreuk</a>, who <a href="https://twitter.com/MsKristinKreuk/status/979486603184955393">says</a> she was never involved in the &#8220;inner circle&#8221; and got out of the group before Raniere and Mack began to implement the sadistic practices in the cult&#8217;s exclusive &#8220;sex slave&#8221; sorority.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://t.co/W0aijK3LcX">pic.twitter.com/W0aijK3LcX</a>
&#8212; Kristin Kreuk (@MsKristinKreuk) <a href="https://twitter.com/MsKristinKreuk/status/979486603184955393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Last week, the New York Post reported that Mack had been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29701/smallville-actress-arrested-alleged-involvement-james-barrett">arrested</a> and was scheduled to appear in a federal court in Brooklyn on Friday. Her arrest came about three weeks after Raniere was <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/28709/fbi-arrest-alleged-sex-cult-leader-connected-james-barrett">tracked down</a> by authorities to his $10,000-a-week villa near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
According to Frank Parlato, a former spokesman for NXIVM-turned-whistleblower, Mack served as a &#8220;<a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4864917/inside-the-terrifying-nxivm-slave-cult-where-women-including-a-hollywood-actress-are-forced-to-hand-over-naked-pics-get-branded-with-the-founders-initials-and-are-beaten-with-paddles/">key recruiter</a>&#8221; for the cult and helped hand-select the sex slaves for Raniere. Along with various brainwashing and blackmailing techniques, the group (at one point called &#8220;DOS,&#8221; for &#8220;dominant over submissive&#8221;) branded Raniere&#8217;s slaves on their pelvic region with &#8220;KR&#8221; and &#8220;AM,&#8221; the initials of Raniere and Mack. Here is an image of one of those brands from Parlato&#8217;s website, &#8220;<a href="http://frankreport.com/2017/10/18/how-to-find-the-k-r-and-a-m-in-the-dos-slave-brand/">Frank Report</a>&#8220;:
[[{&#8220;fid&#8221;:&#8221;32611&#8243;,&#8221;view_mode&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;fields&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false},&#8221;type&#8221;:&#8221;media&#8221;,&#8221;field_deltas&#8221;:{&#8220;4&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false}},&#8221;attributes&#8221;:{&#8220;class&#8221;:&#8221;media-element file-default&#8221;,&#8221;data-delta&#8221;:&#8221;4&#8243;}}]]
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28709/fbi-arrest-alleged-sex-cult-leader-connected-james-barrett">Read more about the cult here</a>.
Below are screenshots of Mack&#8217;s tweets:
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[[{&#8220;fid&#8221;:&#8221;32608&#8243;,&#8221;view_mode&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;fields&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false},&#8221;type&#8221;:&#8221;media&#8221;,&#8221;field_deltas&#8221;:{&#8220;3&#8221;:{&#8220;format&#8221;:&#8221;default&#8221;,&#8221;field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false,&#8221;field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]&#8221;:false}},&#8221;attributes&#8221;:{&#8220;class&#8221;:&#8221;media-element file-default&#8221;,&#8221;data-delta&#8221;:&#8221;3&#8243;}}]]

Here Are The Messages Alleged ‘Sex Slave Cult’ Leader Allison Mack Sent To Emma Watson And Kelly Clarkson

Feminism

Allison Mack, the actress who played &#8220;Chloe Sullivan&#8221; in the hit series &#8220;Smallville&#8221; (2001-11), has been arrested for her alleged involvement in the &#8220;sex slave cult&#8221; NXIVM. The news comes three weeks after the arrest of the founder and leader of the group, Keith Raniere, the man his followers call &#8220;The Vanguard.&#8221;
Raniere was arrested in his $10,000-a-week villa near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in late March. In the criminal complaint against Raniere, Mack, 35, was cited as an &#8220;unnamed co-conspirator&#8221; for her alleged role in leading the &#8220;secret sorority&#8221; called DOS (&#8220;dominant over submissive&#8221;), containing women who were allegedly groomed by Mack and Raniere to be his personal sex slaves.
On Friday, the <a href="https://pagesix.com/2018/04/20/smallville-actress-allison-mack-arrested-in-connection-with-sex-slave-cult/">New York Post</a> reported that sources confirmed that Mack has been arrested and will appear Friday in federal court in Brooklyn.
Though disturbing reports about the cult have been circulating for years, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html">The New York Times</a> helped draw national attention to the story in October 2017 in a report on the DOS &#8220;sorority&#8221; allegedly headed up by Mack. After publication of the Times report, Raniere and Mack fled Upstate New York, where the cult was based, and hid out in Raniere&#8217;s villa in Mexico until he was arrested in March.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28709/fbi-arrest-alleged-sex-cult-leader-connected-james-barrett">The Daily Wire</a> reported in March, the most prominent whistleblower of the group is Frank Parlato, who used to be the group&#8217;s spokesman. Parlato has created an extensive blog, the <a href="http://frankreport.com/2017/10/18/how-to-find-the-k-r-and-a-m-in-the-dos-slave-brand/">Frank Report</a>, that provides testimonials from former members and details about key members, including Mack, whom he describes as a &#8220;<a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4864917/inside-the-terrifying-nxivm-slave-cult-where-women-including-a-hollywood-actress-are-forced-to-hand-over-naked-pics-get-branded-with-the-founders-initials-and-are-beaten-with-paddles/">key recruiter</a>&#8221; for the cult. The actress reportedly helped hand-select the sex slaves for &#8220;The Vanguard&#8221; and would engage in various brainwashing and blackmailing tactics to ensure the women&#8217;s loyalty. Members of DOS are allegedly branded with the initials of both Raniere and Mack.
Below is an image from the Frank Report of the DOS brand, made up of the initials &#8220;KR&#8221; and &#8220;AM&#8221;:
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<a href="https://pagesix.com/2018/04/20/smallville-actress-allison-mack-arrested-in-connection-with-sex-slave-cult/">The Post</a> provides some more details on the allegations against Mack as outlined in the criminal complaint (formatting adjusted):
<blockquote>
According to that complaint, Mack was Raniere&#8217;s direct &#8220;slave&#8221; and had a sexual relationship with him &#8212; but also acted as a &#8220;master&#8221; to other slaves. She allegedly lured women into the secret society within Nxivm known as &#8220;The Vow&#8221; by claiming it was a &#8220;women&#8217;s mentorship group&#8221; then cajoling them into providing &#8220;collateral&#8221; like embarrassing photos and statements, federal prosecutors allege. She ordered the slaves to have sex with Raniere and to pose naked for photos &#8212; &#8220;including on one occasion close-up pictures of their vaginas,&#8221; the feds charge.
</blockquote>
Mack is not the only &#8220;Smallville&#8221; actress that has been connected to the cult. Her former co-star Kristin Kreuk (who played a young Lana Lang) was also once affiliated, but left before the formation of the sadistic DOS sorority. After reports citing Kreuk&#8217;s connections to the cult, she responded with a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28845/report-another-smallville-actress-allegedly-james-barrett">statement</a> denouncing the cult and denying any involvement in its &#8220;inner circle&#8221;:
<blockquote>
When I was about 23, I took an Executive Success Programs/NXIVM &#8220;intensive,&#8221; what I understood to be a self-help/personal growth course that helped me handle my previous shyness, which is why I continued with the program. I left about five years ago and had minimal contact with those who were still involved. The accusations that I was in the &#8220;inner circle&#8221; or recruited women as &#8220;sex slaves&#8221; are blatantly false. During my time, I never experienced any illegal or nefarious activity. I am horrified and disgusted by what has come out about DOS. Thank you to all of the brave women who have come forward to share their stories and expose DOS; I can&#8217;t imagine how difficult this has been for you. I am deeply disturbed and embarrassed to have been associated with NXIVM. I hope that the investigation leads to justice for all of those affected.
</blockquote>

‘Smallville’ Actress Arrested For Alleged Involvement In ‘Sex Cult’

The sex cult NXIVM has been sweeping through the Brooklyn hipster scene, according to <a href="https://pagesix.com/2018/04/09/alleged-sex-cult-recruits-hipsters-in-brooklyn/">Page Six</a>.
Though NXIVM has been on the wane due to its founder, Keith Raniere, being arrested in Mexico on sex-trafficking charges, the Albany-based sex cult has been making strides among the arty and the &#8220;woke.&#8221;
&#8220;Last month, a number of notable Williamsburg artists and writers, who asked not to be named, were invited by friends to what was billed as a party promising &#8216;authentic conversation&#8217; among creatives and &#8216;light vegetarian fare,'&#8221; reports Page Six. &#8220;A flyer for the event at a private home in Williamsburg billed it as &#8216;an evening of meeting cool, like-minded artists and chatting about life, authenticity, and the awesome human potential,&#8217; also vaguely referring to an unexplained &#8216;human expression program.'&#8221;
The party essentially devolved into a long sales pitch for a $10,000 &#8220;curriculum&#8221; called &#8220;the Source,&#8221; a sort of &#8220;life-improvement&#8221; program for actors and artists. Some guests left the party giggling at the ridiculousness of it all, but others took it seriously.
The &#8220;Source&#8221; raises funds for NXIVM and the organizer of the bash had direct ties to the organization. &#8220;Smallville&#8221; actress Alison Mack is allegedly a member and is said to have been with the founder Raniere when he was arrested. The Daily Mail detailed the group&#8217;s horrifying tactics of control:
<blockquote>
Ex-members have detailed how only the most loyal NXIVM female members are offered the ability to try out for DOS. In order to join, prospective new members must allegedly turn over damning personal information as a show of trust. But ex-members say that information is actually used to keep members from speaking out about the horrifying reality of the group.
</blockquote>
Women in the group are allegedly kept on a 500-800 calorie a day diet and the female &#8220;slaves&#8221; must answer to their masters by recruiting other &#8220;slaves&#8221; or face being beaten on the buttocks.
<blockquote>
When women are deemed worthy to enter the group, they are ordered to strip at an initiation ceremony and then branded with a symbol that includes both Raniere and Mack&#8217;s initials. The blog also says that there&#8217;s yet another tier of the cult above DOS. Women who perform well in DOS may also be invited to join Raniere&#8217;s harem.
</blockquote>
NXIVM says of the allegations: &#8220;The allegations relayed in the story are built upon sources, some of which are under criminal investigation or already indicted, who act as a coordinated group. We will explore any and all legal remedies to correct these lies.&#8221;

Sex Cult NXIVM Recruits Brooklyn Hipsters

Sexuality

The FBI arrested Keith Raniere, the leader of alleged &#8220;sex cult&#8221; NXIVM (pronounced Nex-e-um) based in upstate New York, on Monday for charges of sex trafficking and forced labor.
Allegations against Raniere, called &#8220;Vanguard&#8221; by his followers, have been circulating for months, with multiple reports connecting Raniere to former &#8220;Smallville&#8221; star Allison Mack, 36 (pictured above), who is allegedly a member of the group and partner with Raniere in his criminal activities. The <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-co-founder-Keith-Raniere-charged-in-federal-12782354.php">Albany Times Union</a> reports that Mack is identified in the complaint as an &#8220;unnamed co-conspirator.&#8221;
In October, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html">The New York Times</a> reported on &#8220;DOS,&#8221; NXIVM&#8217;s &#8220;secret sorority&#8221; which allegedly brands Raniere&#8217;s select female followers as well as starving and abusing them for failing to recruit enough &#8220;slaves&#8221; to the cult. To ensure their loyalty, cult leaders allegedly draw out damning details from the lives of the followers as well as take humiliating photos as blackmail.
The most prominent whistleblower is Frank Parlato, a former spokesman for the group, who has <a href="http://frankreport.com/2017/10/18/how-to-find-the-k-r-and-a-m-in-the-dos-slave-brand/">detailed in a blog</a> the allegations against Raniere and Mack, including that Mack is his right-hand woman, leads the DOS sorority, and is a &#8220;<a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4864917/inside-the-terrifying-nxivm-slave-cult-where-women-including-a-hollywood-actress-are-forced-to-hand-over-naked-pics-get-branded-with-the-founders-initials-and-are-beaten-with-paddles/">key recruiter</a>&#8221; for the group. Under Raniere and Mack&#8217;s direction, the initiates are allegedly branded with the two leaders&#8217; initials. Raniere reportedly maintains his control through manipulation, including an inflated portrayal of his own intelligence, and threat of blackmail and punishment.
&#8220;Raniere describes the group as a private sorority on the NXIVM website, and followers insist that it is a self-help organization and not a cult,&#8221; <a href="http://www.newyorkupstate.com/capital-region/2018/03/nxivm_co-founder_keith_raniere_arrested_extreme_cult_upstate_ny.html">NYUp</a> reports.
The Albany Times Union provides some more details about the arrest of Raniere (formatting adjusted):
<blockquote>
A warrant for Raniere&#8217;s arrest was issued more than a month ago. Raniere was taken into custody this week after Mexican immigration officials helped U.S. authorities track him to a luxury, $10,000-a-week villa near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he was staying with several women, federal officials said.
Raniere flew to Mexico last November after U.S. authorities began interviewing &#8220;witnesses and victims&#8221; associated with NXIVM and the secret club, authorities said. But finding Raniere had been difficult, they said, because he &#8220;began using end-to-end encrypted email and stopped using his phone.&#8221;
&#8220;The defendant was uncooperative when immigration authorities arrived and after he was taken into custody, the women chased the car in which the defendant was being transported in their own car at high speed,&#8221; prosecutors said in court papers.
</blockquote>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Keith Raniere, the co-founder of the NXIVM corporation, a secretive Colonie-based organization that an expert has called an &#8220;extreme cult,&#8221; has been arrested by the FBI, sources say. READ MORE: <a href="https://t.co/fbEhgd2jum">https://t.co/fbEhgd2jum</a> <a href="https://t.co/g8xxoCO2VM">pic.twitter.com/g8xxoCO2VM</a>
&#8212; Times Union (@timesunion) <a href="https://twitter.com/timesunion/status/978353736539099136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/23399/former-smallville-actress-allegedly-second-command-hank-berrien">Former &#8216;Smallville&#8217; Actress Allegedly Second In Command Of Sex Cult</a>

FBI Arrest Alleged Sex Cult Leader Connected To Former ‘Smallville’ Star

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5063683/Former-Smallville-actress-second-command-sex-cult.html">According</a> to the Daily Mail, actress Allison Mack, 35, who played Clark Kent&#8217;s friend Chloe Sullivan on Smallville, is allegedly second in command of a secret sex cult.
The cult, called DOS, is allegedly a secret society for the highest-ranking female members within the self-help group NXIVM, which was founded by Keith Raniere. In October, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html">The New York Times</a> reported of a secret sorority that branded women, starved them and beat them if they didn&#8217;t recruit enough “slaves.”
Frank Parlato, a former spokesman for NXIVM (pronounced Nex-e-um), stated on his blog that Mack supervises DOS, which brands women; he alleged that Mack is only second to Raniere in terms of seniority. On Wednesday, Parlato told <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4864917/inside-the-terrifying-nxivm-slave-cult-where-women-including-a-hollywood-actress-are-forced-to-hand-over-naked-pics-get-branded-with-the-founders-initials-and-are-beaten-with-paddles/">The Sun </a>that an “Emmy Award-winning actress” is a “key recruiter” for DOS.
The Daily Mail reports that the alleged actress is Mack.
Parlato wrote on his blog, <a href="https://frankreport.com/2017/10/18/how-to-find-the-k-r-and-a-m-in-the-dos-slave-brand/">The Frank Report</a>, that Mack created DOS to become a “force for good and a female force against evil.”
The Daily Mail reports:
<blockquote>Ex-members have detailed how only the most loyal NXIVM female members are offered the ability to try out for DOS. In order to join, prospective new members must allegedly turn over damning personal information as a show of trust. But ex-members say that information is actually used to keep members from speaking out about the horrifying reality of the group. themselves, and it spreads down from there like a pyramid scheme.</blockquote>
Frank alleged that women in the group are kept on a 500-800 calorie a day diet; that “slaves” must immediately answer their masters at all times and are beaten on their buttocks if they do not recruit other “slaves,” and that Mack introduced corporal punishment to the group.
The Daily Mail adds:
<blockquote>When women are deemed worthy to enter the group, they are ordered to strip at an initiation ceremony and then branded with a symbol that includes both Raniere and Mack&#8217;s initials. The blog also says that there&#8217;s yet another tier of the cult above DOS. Women who perform well in DOS may also be invited to join Raniere&#8217;s harem.</blockquote>
NXIVM has responded to the charges, stating: “The allegations relayed in the story are built upon sources, some of which are under criminal investigation or already indicted, who act as a coordinated group. We will explore any and all legal remedies to correct these lies.”
Mack has stated on her personal website that Raniere “mentored [her] in her study of acting and music. … As such, she has developed a deep connection to the nature of humanity as it relates to acting as an art form, and a tool for personal evolution.”
The New York Post has <a href="https://pagesix.com/2017/11/07/catherine-oxenberg-meets-with-officials-over-daughters-cult-involvement/">reported</a> that former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg met with prosecutors in New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman&#8217;s office to discuss her daughter India, who is a member of the group. Oxenberg said, “Some people have said this is a voluntary sorority. The women I have spoken to tell a far different story. Coercion is not voluntary. Extortion is not voluntary. Blackmail is not voluntary.”

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