29.03.2024

NXIVM cult leader sentenced to 120 years in prison

Keith Raniere, the founder and former leader of the NXIVM cult, has been sentenced to 120 years in prison. The sentencing was announced on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn. US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis handed down the sentence after a lengthy hearing featuring statements by victims. Raniere was also fined $1.75m.

This marks the culmination of several years of revelations about NXIVM, which charged thousands of dollars for invitation-only self improvement courses at its headquarters near Albany, New York, and had branches in Mexico and Canada.

Raniere, 60, was convicted in June 2019 of charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. The racketeering offence included acts of production and possession of child pornography, identity theft, and extortion.

Prosecutors had sought life in prison while defence lawyers said Raniere should face 15 years behind bars.

Raniere has maintained his innocence and shown no remorse, with his lawyers telling the judge before the sentencing that their client wasn’t sorry “for his conduct or his choices.” In a court filing last month, Raniere’s attorneys sought to paint his conviction as the result of a “media campaign involving witnesses who were motivated to testify falsely” at “an unfair trial.”

Reniere’s followers called him “Vanguard.” To honour him, the group formed a secret sorority comprised of female “slaves” who were branded with his initials and ordered to have sex with him, the prosecutors said. Women were also pressured into giving up embarrassing information about themselves that could be used against them if they left the group.

Raniere was also accused by prosecutors of having a sexual relationship with a girl starting when she was 15. Prosecutors said he kept nude photos of the girl, which are the basis of the child pornography charge.

The girl’s older sister, who was also deeply involved in NXIVM, testified at length against Raniere at the trial.

Nonetheless, the girls’ father was among more than 50 people who wrote letters to Garaufis urging leniency for Raniere. Many said their lives had been greatly improved by NXIVM classes, which could cost thousands of dollars.

Several other people affiliated with NXIVM have pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including Seagram liquor heiress Clare Bronfman, actress Allison Mack, former NXIVM president Nancy Salzman and her daughter Lauren Salzman, who testified as the prosecution’s star witness.

Bronfman, who was accused of helping bankroll NXIVM, was sentenced last month to more than six years in prison.

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