Controversial self-help group Nxivm has suspended operations following the high-profile arrests ofSmallvilleactress Allison Mackand group co-founderKeith Raniereon sex trafficking and forced labor charges.
According to a messageposted on Nxivm’s website, “we are suspending all Nxivm/ESP enrollment, curriculum and events until further notice.”
The message was posted sometime after Mack’s April arrest, but it was not clear exactly when.
Mackwas charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. The actress, best known for her years-long role as Chloe Sullivan on The WB’sSmallville, is facing a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted on all of her charges.
Raniere faces the same chargesand potential prison sentence. Both he and Mack have pleaded not guilty.
“The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit,” Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, alleged in a statement issued at the time of Mack’s arrest.
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Nxivm is based out of Albany, New York, and has been the subject of scrutiny from both law enforcement and journalists as it came under fire fromDynastyactress Catherine Oxenberg, whose estranged daughter, India, joined the group in 2011.
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In the fall, India posted on Facebook that she was “absolutely fine, great actually [and] I would never put myself or the people I love into any danger.”
The criminal complaint against Raniere — known as “Vanguard” to his followers — alleged that he encouraged the formation of a secretive subgroup within Nxivm called “Dominus Obsequious Sororium,” (DOS) in which women were coerced into serving as sex slaves to their male masters.
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The complaint against Raniere additionally alleges the women were branded with Raniere’s initials, as he “alone forms the top of the pyramid as the highest master.”
A cauterizing pen was used to make the permanent marks near each person’s pubic region, the complaint alleges.
In statements previously posted to Nxivm’s website, Raniere said all involved in DOS were consenting adults and that Nxivm was not involved in what he called a “sorority.”
In the fall, the group denounced aNew York Timesarticle about them as “a criminal product of criminal minds.”
Mack and Raniere are scheduled to stand trial on Oct. 1.
source: people.com
