Allison Mack Released From Prison After NXIVM Sex-Trafficking Case
Actress Allison Mack (Smallville) was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California after serving 21 months of her three-year sentence, according to CBC. Mack’s involvement with NXIVM, a personality cult founded by Keith Raniere, saw her facing charges for racketeering. Her sentence started in 2021 after pleading guilty in 2019, and it has been reported that her reduced prison term was attributed to her cooperation in building a case against Raniere.
Keith Raneire is currently serving a 120 year sentence on sex-trafficking, racketeering, forced labor conspiracy, and wire fraud charges.
Allison Mack has been released from prison, 15 months shy of her original 3 year sentence.
NXIVM was originally branded as an executive coaching organization, but has been criticized in the past for be a cult-like program, as well as a multi-level marketing company.
Allison Mack’s involvement saw her at the head of a secret subgroup known as “Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS),” and was built around the concept of female empowerment. Over time, it was revealed that DOS was a means for Raniere to groom, traffic, and extort women.
Inside the DOS, Allison Mack was tasked with recruiting female members under Raniere’s leadership. The recruitment process involved collecting “collateral” from each victim in the form of nude photographs, and damaging information about their families that would be used against them should they decide to leave the organization or tell anybody about its existence.
Raniere is not without support from his most loyal followers, however, and these supporters are making efforts to maintain his innocence through letter writing campaigns that his attorneys have compiled and collected.
Other methods of control included physical isolation, sleep deprivation, extremely restrictive diets, and being subject to physical punishment.
In an interview with New York Times, former NXIVM member Sarah Edmonson divulged information about an initiation ceremony in which recruits were branded with Keith Raniere’s initials under Mack’s supervision at her house, a ritual that Mack has admitted to being her own idea.
Allison Mack’s Reduced Sentence
During Mack’s 2019 hearing, she pleaded guilty to racketeering, extortion, and forced labor. But she also was involved in a plea negotiation to reduce her original sentence, which would have been at least 15 years if found guilty.
Allison Mack saw a much reduced sentence due to her cooperation with US authorities in which she provided “detailed and highly corroborated information” that could be used in solidifying a case against Raniere. The US Attorney also stated that Mack could have provided more substantial information earlier on in the case, which is why she still faced sentencing for her crimes.
The final sentencing for Mack included three years in prison, three years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service, and a $20,000 fine for her involvement with NXIVM and DOS.
In January 2020, Allison Mack was also named as a defendant alongside her wife Nicki Clyne, and Raniere, in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court by 80 former NXIVM members. The civil suit focuses on NXIVM’s exploitation of recruits, which led to psychological trauma.
Though Allison Mack has been released from prison, NXIVM founder Keith Raniere remains behind bars, and his organization is now defunct. Raniere is not without support from his most loyal followers, however, and these supporters are making efforts to maintain his innocence through letter writing campaigns that his attorneys have compiled and collected.
