SEX CULT LEADER GETS 120 YEARS
‘He showed no mercy,’ vic cries out
Keith Raniere, the pedophile leader of the creepy, woman-branding sex cult within his controversial self-help organization NXIVM, was sentenced to 120 years in prison Tuesday.
The sentence, handed down as the diminutive Raniere stood stoically in Brooklyn Federal Court, came at the end of a rambling speech in which he apologized yet proclaimed his innocence.
“I do believe strongly I’m innocent of the charges,” he said, turning to face his victims.
Raniere called some of them “liars” and “not factual,” while still apologizing for the hurt he caused. “The hurt is true. The anger is true,” he said. “I am deeply sorry. I did not mean to cause this pain, cause this anger.”
Once he was finished, Judge Nicholas Garaufis gave him a cumulative sentence of 120 years, calling Raniere’s crimes “cruel, perverse and extremely serious.” He also imposed a $1.75 million fine.
“Yes!” one victim whispered when the sentencing was announced.
Earlier Tuesday, 15 of Raniere’s victims, mostly women, detailed the sexual and psychological abuses he committed over decades, including rape, pedophilia, and false imprisonment.
“I was a child,” said victim Camila, who was raped by Raniere starting when she was a teen in 2005. “I was 15, he was 45.”
“He used my innocence to do whatever he wanted with me. He was calculated and methodical. ... He punished me emotionally, psychologically and sexually” she said.
Camila’s older sister, Daniela, who also had an abusive sexual relationship with Raniere, lashed out at her tormentor.
“He showed me no mercy. He showed my little sister no mercy.
He deserves no mercy,” Daniela said.
Raniere, 60, and his cabal of associates who ran the Albany-based NX
IVM painted itself as a revolutionary self-improvement organization that could help its followers become their best selves.
But its feel-good façade hid a terrible secret. Raniere was in effect leading a sex trafficking enterprise, sleeping with at least one minor and coercing several women into being branded with his initials over their genitals — all in the name of personal growth.
Raniere was convicted in 2019 of helping himself to a harem of women who were recruited for his sexual pleasure into a secret group within NXIVM known as “DOS.”
The women, known as “slaves,” were required to hand over “collateral” — usually nude photos — that could be harmful to them if they broke their lifetime vow to the group.
The women in charge of each slave were their “masters .” Raniere, known as Vanguard, was the “grandmaster.”
One woman, Nicole, spoke through tears about the moment she realized DOS was meant to fulfill Raniere’s sexual fantasies.
“It had never been about growth or strength or women’s empowerment,” she said. “DOS was about your sexual pleasure.”
Other women who spoke out Tuesday highlighted how Raniere controlled their diets and forced them to lose weight.
“I was put on a restrictive calorie diet,” said India Oxenberg, who was a DOS slave.
She added that Raniere tried to keep her sleep-deprived.
“I will be a victim of Keith Raniere all my life, but I don’t need to live as one,” she said.
Raniere will likely appeal the sentence.
Still awaiting sentencing are NXIVM leaders including “Smallville” actress Alison Mack, and Nancy Salzman and her daughter Lauren Salzman.
Raniere pleaded for lenience for his followers Tuesday.
“Not only are they innocent ... Please rethink their roles. Blame me if you have to. They are good souls,” he said, asking the judge not to sentence them to prison time.
One of Raniere’s victims heralded the harsh sentence that amounted to a lifetime behind bars.
“It’s a good day for justice. That’s all I can say,” said the woman.