‘Smallville’ actress arrested for trafficking
A television actress best known for playing a young Superman’s close friend pleaded not guilty Friday to sex trafficking after federal prosecutors said she worked as a slave “master” recruiting unsuspecting women to a cult-like group led by a man who sold himself as a self-improvement guru to the stars.
Allison Mack was accused in an indictment unsealed by the federal court in Brooklyn. She entered her plea and was remanded to custody after the judge refused a request from Mack’s lawyers to release her without bail.
Mack, 35, starred in The CW network’s “Smallville.” Since that series ended in 2011, she has played only minor roles.
Prosecutors said she helped recruit women for leader Keith Raniere and his cult-like organization called NXIVM. She told the women they were joining what was purported to be a female mentorship group.
But “the victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor,” according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors said she required women she recruited to engage in sexual activity with Raniere, who paid Mack in return.
Federal authorities raided an upstate New York residence near Albany where NXIVM was headquartered in March. The organization also ran programs in Mexico.
Raniere, 57, was arrested in Mexico and brought to the US on March 26.
Mack’s “Smallville” co-star Kristin Kreuk said she was involved with one of the group’s self-help programs but left about five years ago. She wrote on Twitter last month that she didn’t experience any “nefarious activity.”