Prosecutors are going after two properties in upstate New York where they believe Allison Mack and Keith Raniere’s alleged sex-trafficking crimes took place.
Yahoo Entertainment received a copy of the civil forfeiture action filed on Wednesday in Brooklyn Federal Court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and more unsettling details have emerged around the sex cult allegedly run by Raniere, who oversaw a self-help group called Nxivm, and the 35-year-old Smallville actress.
A woman simply identified as “Jane Doe 1” recalls her foray into Nxivm’s secret society called DOS (or Master Over Slave Women) and the disturbing occurrences that she says took place at both properties in Halfmoon, N.Y. In one instance, she claims she was tied to a table while someone performed sexual acts on her.
Jane Doe 1 is described as an actress in her early 30s who began taking Nxivm classes in 2015. In February 2016, Mack — an alleged DOS master— is said to have first recruited Jane Doe into the secret sorority. DOS masters recruited slaves mostly from within Nxivm’s ranks, according to the document. When identifying prospective slaves, masters “often targeted women who were currently experiencing difficulties in their lives,” it says. A master reportedly would tell a potential slave that it was an opportunity to “join an organization that would change her life.” Slaves were then required to perform “acts of care” for their masters, which were often sexual, and to pay “tribute,” the document claims.
One night, according to the court documents, Mack woke up Jane Doe and told her to meet Raniere and “do anything he asked her to do.” When they met in the middle of the night, she says, Raniere directed her to remove all her clothes, blindfolded her, and led her through some trees “into what she believed was a shack, and tied her to the table.”
There was another person in the room whom Jane Doe did not recognize, and this person began performing oral sex on her “as Raniere circled the table making comments,” the document reads, adding: “Jane Doe 1 did not want to participate in this sexual activity, but believed it was part of her commitment to DOS and that if she broke her commitment… collateral could be released.”
Before joining DOS, slaves reportedly were required to turn over “collateral” materials they would not want revealed because it could be damaging to themselves and/or someone close to them. Such information was allegedly then used to blackmail a slave into remaining a Nxivm member if the person eventually tried to defect.
In the following months, Jane Doe 1 claims she had sexual contact with Raniere on a number of occasions, most often at one of the properties mentioned in the document. At least two other DOS slaves also had sex there, she says.
Throughout Jane Doe’s time in DOS, the document states, “Mack regularly required her slaves to pose for nude photographs, either as assignments or collateral. These photographs included on one occasion close-up pictures of their vaginas.” The pictures were supposedly being sent to Raniere. On one occasion, Jane Doe says she saw a message exchange between Mack and Raniere in which he responded to the naked photo, “‘All mine?’ with a smiling devil emoticon.”
Jane Doe also describes the branding “ceremony” in which slaves reportedly were cauterized with Mack and Raniere’s initials. It allegedly took 20 to 30 minutes, and slaves took turns holding each other down while the branding was filmed — so it could be used as collateral later, according to the document.
Mack and Raniere have been charged with sex trafficking, sex-trafficking conspiracy, and forced-labor conspiracy. Raniere has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and it’s believed that the actress is working on a plea deal. The next status hearing will take place in June.
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