NXIVM Leader Found Guilty Of Sex Trafficking, Faces Life In Prison
Image by Getty Images
Keith Raniere, the founder of the sex-slavery cult NXIVM, was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering on Wednesday, BuzzFeed News reported.
For two decades, Raniere led NXIVM, a purported self-help company that prosecutors said was just a cult that controlled members, branded them and forced them into having sex with him. After a six-week trial, the jury found him guilty of all seven charges. He will be sentenced September 25 and faces life in prison.
Clare Bronfman, daughter of the late Jewish philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman, took charge of NXIVM after Raniere and his top aide, former “Smallville” actor Allison Mack, were arrested. Bronfman pleaded guilty in April for her involvement; she is to pay $6 million and may spend more than two years in prison. She’ll be sentenced next month.
Several other women, including Mack, had already pleaded guilty to their involvement.
Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
