Nxivm Founder Keith Raniere Sentenced to 120 Years

Federal prosecutors recommended life in prison after a jury found him guilty of federal racketeering, sex trafficking and other crimes last year

By Deanna Paul | 27 October 2020

WALL STREET JOURNAL — … A Brooklyn jury convicted Keith Raniere, now 60 years old, on federal charges of racketeering, sex-trafficking, forced labor and wire fraud in June 2019 after a trial where prosecutors detailed wide-ranging abuse and sexual exploitation of women.

The six-week trial featured witnesses, including former members, who recounted how women were controlled through severe diets and forced to turn over damaging information, like naked photos and confessions.

Mr. Raniere founded Nxivm under the guise of teaching personal empowerment. Prosecutors said he “masqueraded as a self-help guru to gain the trust of his followers, and then exploited them for his own financial gain and sexual gratification.” …

“He hid his abuse behind ideas and concepts of nobility. I only now see that there was nothing noble about abusing children,” said a letter written by Camila who didn’t disclose her last name. She said she first met Mr. Raniere in 2003, when she was 13. “I still hear his voice in my head.”

Several members of the group, including “Smallville” actress Allison Mack and Seagram Co. heiress Clare Bronfman, among others, were convicted of crimes for their involvement in Nxivm. …

Ms. Bronfman, a onetime-member of Nxivm’s executive board, was sentenced to 81 months in prison earlier this month. […]

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