Eastern District of New York judge, Steven M Gold, received a shocking letter last month, which detailed some of the horrific acts allegedly completed by Keith Raniere as head of the NXIVM sex cult. “According to confidential sources, the defendant had repeated sexual encounters with multiple teenage girls in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s,” the letter, written by US Attorney Richard P. Donoghue, and obtained by DailyMail, read. “In one instance, the defendant met a 15-year-old girl while he was in his 20s and had repeated sexual contact with her. In another instance, the defendant met a 12-year-old girl whose mother worked for the defendant and began tutoring her. Shortly thereafter, the defendant began having regular sexual intercourse with her, including at his home where he lived with multiple adult sexual partners.”
Keith was arrested on charges of sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy at the end of March. He is currently being held without bail, thanks to the letter from the office of the U.S. attorney. Officials have been intently investigating Keith since Feb. 14, when allegations were officially brought against him in a Complaint and Affidavit in Support of Arrest Warrant. Smallville actress, Allison Mack, who allegedly worked as Keith’s second-in-command at the head of NXIVM, was also targeted in this warrant. She was finally arrested on April 20.
Information in the affidavit was provided to officials by two women referred to as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. Allison is referred to as ‘CC-1’ in the documents, which allege that she was Keith’s first “slave,” and eventually began recruiting other women to join. The ‘slaves’ were allegedly forced to reveal incriminating information about themselves to Keith when they joined NXIVM, and were threatened with this information as blackmail if they ever tried to leave.
It was previously reported that NXIVM members were also allegedly forced to live on 800-calorie-a-day diets, and that they were painfully branded with a symbol featuring Keith and Allison’s initials. “As alleged in the indictment, Allison Mack recruited women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere,” Attorney Richard Dongohue said in a statement. “The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit. The Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting predators who victimize others through sex trafficking and forced labor.”
Allison is currently in the midst of plea negotiations with her legal team and attorneys representing the Eastern District of New York, with hopes of settling the case without going to court.