Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #509

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Keith Raniere, Founder Of Sex Cult NXIVM, Sentenced To Life In Prison
This Tuesday, a federal court sen- tenced the co- founder and leader of the alleged sex cult Nxivm, to sen- tenced to 120 years in prison. He was punished for sex trafficking and other appalling crimes, the New York Times reports. Nicholas Garaufis, US District Judge, read the sentence in Brooklyn feder- al court .
Back in 2019, the 60-year-old Keith Raniere was found guilty on charges of sex trafficking of chil- dren, conspiracy, racketeering, forced labor, and possession of child pornogra- phy. He was arrested in 2018
in Mexico after traumatized mem- bers (who escaped Nxivm) raised their voices against him. The culprit then sought refuge from the US.
Apparently, NXIVM is an American multi- level marketing company based
in York,. The com- pany offers per- sonal and profes- sional develop- ment seminars of large-group awareness train- ing via "Executive Success Programs". The company, howev- er, is branded as a cult.
Raniere founded
Nxiym in 1998, with his partner, Nancy Salzman, a nurse and hyp- notist. His follow- ers refer Raniere as "Vanguard" and Salzman as "Prefect Raniere, in fact, publicized himself as a sci- entist. His self- improvement workshops pro- moted the falsely
designed self-help courses. Raniere exploited psycho- logical methods to draw private infor- mation from his followers that he later uses to blackmail them.
Moreover, Smallville" fame actress Allison Mack, who plead- ed guilty to rack-
eteering and rack- eteering conspira- cy charges for recruiting women to the sex cult in 2018, was one of Raniere's top companions.
However, the decisions about Allison Mack, Nancy Salzman, and Salzman's daughter Lauren Salzman, are yet to announce because of the COVID-19 pan- demic. The sen- tencing is expect- ed in 2020. The case became more convincing when 15 abused victims swore in Brooklyn on Tuesday and described how Raniere had wounded their lives.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine