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 fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
