Allison Mack Pleads Guilty To 2 Charges In NXIVM Sex Cult Case, Faces 20 Years In Prison

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In a shocking twist, ‘Smallville’ star Allison Mack changed her previous ‘not guilty’ plea to ‘guilty’ on April 8 for two charges associated with her time in the wild NXIVM sex cult.

A sobbing Allison Mack changed her tune and pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, and one count of racketeering (including extortion and forced labor) for her alleged time running a master-slave ring within the NXIVM cult. “I have come to the conclusion that I must take full responsibility for my conduct and that’s why I am pleading guilty today,” Mack told the court while choking up. “I am very sorry to my family and to the good people I hurt through my misguided adherence to [Nxivm leader] Keith Raniere’s teachings.” Mack, 36, who originally pleaded “not guilty,” also faces charges of sex trafficking, identity fraud, and money laundering. It is unclear how she will plead. She is facing 20 years in prison if convicted on the current charges.

Mack arrived at the Brooklyn courthouse on April 8 for her 11:30am hearing dressed in a beige sweater, black slacks, and leopard-print shoes. The former Smallville star was spotted hiding in the courthouse’s cafeteria from paparazzi ahead of her hearing. Her guilty plea comes after NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman and her daughter, Lauren Salzman, both pleaded guilty on April 1 to racketeering conspiracy charges for their involvement in the cult, which called itself a a self-improvement group. Mack is accused of helping Raniere operate a sub-sect of the group called Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), in which women were allegedly kept as his sex slaves, forced into starvation diets, and branded with Raniere and Mack’s initials.

Mack was allegedly Raniere’s “direct slave,” according to prosecutors, and also allegedly acted as a “master” to the other DOS slaves. She admitted in an interview with New York Times Magazine before her April 2018 arrest that it was her idea to brand the women with a cauterizing pen. Seagram‘s liquor heiress Claire Bronfman, NXIVM accountant Kathy Russell, and Raniere are also facing charges and jail time. Raniere was charged with sex trafficking, forced labor, wire fraud conspiracy, human trafficking and other counts, and faces additional charges for alleged molestation of children and producing child pornography. Bronfman, Lauren Salzman, Russell, and Mack “were aware of and facilitated Raniere’s sexual relationships with two underage victims: (1) a fifteen-year-old girl who was employed by Nancy Salzman and who – ten years later – became Raniere’s first-line ‘slave’ in DOS,” according to court docs. Raniere’s trial begins on April 29.

As a top lawyer told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY, Lauren Salzman’s guilty plea doesn’t bode well for Mack’s case. “It is pretty clear to me that the reason why they would have Lauren (Salzman) plead guilty at this point would be to have her testify at the trial and cooperate. They sealed her court documents [which suggests] that Lauren is cooperating,” NYC criminal attorney David M. Schwartz explained.