Allison Mack pleads guilty to racketeering charges in NXIVM case
'Smallville' actress Allison Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in a Brooklyn federal court Monday, after being accused of crimes related to the alleged self-help group NXIVM and its spiritual leader, Keith Raniere. Prosecutors accused Mack of helping Raniere recruit women to a secret sub-society within NXIVM, and become sex slaves for Raniere. Mack's plea was entered shortly before jury selection was scheduled to begin.
A movie based on the twisted upstate sex cult NXIVM, where women were starved and branded like cattle, is set to premiere this fall on the Lifetime channel, reps said Monday.
The made-for-TV flick, “NXIVM Cult: A Mother’s Nightmare,” centers on the true story of former “Dynasty” star Catherine Oxenberg, whose daughter, India, became a sex slave for cult leader Keith Raniere, the Lifetime channel announced in a press release.
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In the movie, actress Andrea Roth of “Rescue Me” will play the role of Catherine Oxenberg, and Jasper Polish of the “Devil’s Whisper” will portray India, according to Lifetime, which is producing the flick with Sony Pictures Television.
Actor Peter Facinelli of “Twilight” will play Raniere and Sara Fletcher of “Secret Girlfriend” will portray Raniere right-hand Allison Mack, of “Smallville” fame.
Keith Raniere (left) and his accused sidekick, "Smallville" actress Allison Mack, will be the subjects of a Lifetime made-for-TV film centered on their NXIVM sex cult, the network says. (YouTube/AP)
“When Catherine learns about a leadership seminar from a new organization called NXIVM she decides to take her 20-year-old daughter India to the professional development meeting. Led by the extremely enigmatic Keith Raniere, Catherine can’t help but shake the feeling there’s more than meets the eye with the self-help organization,” Lifetime reps said in a description of the movie.
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Despite Catherine’s best efforts, India is drawn deeper into the cult, eventually joining a secret sorority of female members who are branded with the cult leader’s initials, ordered to maintain a restricted diet and forced to recruit other women as sex slaves…[It] tells the story of a mother who will stop at nothing to get her daughter back.”
The movie announcement comes less than two weeks after Raniere was found guilty on all counts for running the cult.
In this courtroom artist's sketch, defendant Keith Raniere, center, sits with attorneys Paul DerOhannesian, left, and Marc Agnifilo during closing arguments at Brooklyn federal court, Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in New York. A federal prosecutor said Raniere used his NXIVM organization to "tap into a never-ending flow of women and money." Attorneys for the defendant say he had no criminal intent and that his sexual encounters with followers were consensual. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
During his federal sex-trafficking trial, a former “slave” testified that India was starved and forced to spend a year on a 500-calorie-a-day diet.
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One former NXIVM member, identified only as “Nicole,” said under oath that “Smallville” actress and alleged slave master Allison Mack was so manipulative, she’d threaten to further starve India even to ensure that Nicole stayed obedient.
Earlier this month an ex-“slave,” Jay, also testified that India later went on to have a slave herself.
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