Smallville actress Allison Mack pleaded guilty on Monday to a case regarding sex trafficking. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mack was allegedly part of cult-like group, called NXIVM (pronounced NEX-ium), that involved sex slavery. The group was supposedly a self-help group, but it allegedly was revealed to be a pyramid scheme. Mack pleaded guilty to the act of manipulation, tricking the women into becoming sex slaves for their cult leader, Keith Raniere. According to U.S. attorney Richard P. Donoghue, the women were coerced “both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit,” the defendant being Raniere. Upon admitting her guilt, Mack cried apologetically, stating that “I believed Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people, and I was wrong.” Due to her plea, Mack has avoided trial with others who were allegedly involved that opted for not guilty pleas, such as Raniere, Clare Bronfman, and Kathy Russell.
According to prosecutors, DOS, subgroup of NXIVM, allegedly was a women’s society in which the members had to be branded with Raniere’s initials and allegedly then undergo sexual relations with Raniere. Although the defense has insisted that all sexual conduct was consensual, there was an issue involving minors that has complicated the trial. Allegedly, some of the women that were exploited were under the age of 17, compounding Raniere’s charges with new charges of child exploitation and pornography involving a minor. Prosecutors also alleged that other members, including Allison Mack, “were aware of and facilitated Raniere’s sexual relationships with [the] two underage victims.”
Another complication was the fact that Mack admitted to blackmail in the form of what the group had called “collateral.” These alleged compromising documents and images were allegedly used to force two women to perform sexual intercourse with Raniere.
Mack also admitted to being guilty of extortion and forced labor. Although she was arrested back in April of last year, she is finally pleading guilty to these acts, in which she allegedly tricked women into joining the group, claiming it was a female mentorship program. Last year she was charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy, all of which she plead not guilty to at the time.
Her sentence is set for September 11, 2019, in which she could face 40 years in prison as a maximum.