INSIDE NXIUM'S HORROR 'CULT'
Ex-‘sex slaves’ tell all in TV series
A new series on A&E will feature dramatic firsthand accounts from former members of the alleged upstate sex cult Nxivm — detailing how they were recruited by its “sociopathic” leader Keith Raniere.
The ex-“slaves” will be featured on the network’s “Cults and Extreme Belief,” which is set to premiere Monday night.
The former Nxivm members describe how they and others — like “Smallville” actress Allison Mack — were allegedly lured in by Raniere through forced kissing and lifelong sex oaths. They tell of years of alleged abuse, including claims of branding.
“I don’t think people can imagine what it’s like to have your skin seared open by a hot cauterizing iron for 40 or 45 minutes,” former member Sarah Edmondson — an actress who has appeared in the TV shows “Continuum” and “Fringe” — says in a clip released over the weekend. “It was the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Edmondson describes Raniere as a “sociopathic, narcissistic nut job” who would recruit women by using his “secret women’s” program, dubbed DOS.
She told A&E that when members would get in trouble for not obeying rules, they would punish each other and send videos of the ordeal to Raniere.
“They paddled each other, videotaped it, naked, and sent that to Raniere,” Edmondson said.
The secret sub-sect of DOS — “Dominus Obsequious Sororium,” or “Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions” — was treated as an “organized criminal group,” according to Edmondson, herself a DOS member, and authorities.
Those who were interested in joining would immediately be met with affection from Raniere, former members say.
In Monday’s episode, Edmondson details how she also joined the cult’s so-called “Jness” program — which required a $15,000 deposit for three eight-day training sessions — meant to help women “figure out” who they are “at their core.”
“We were all pawns for him in his little chess game,” Edmondson says. “Especially women.”