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โSmallvilleโ actor released from prison for role in sex-trafficking case tied to cult-like group
Read full article: โSmallvilleโ actor released from prison for role in sex-trafficking case tied to cult-like groupThe television actor Allison Mack has been released from a California prison near San Francisco.
NXIVM guru gets 120 years in prison in sex-slaves case
Read full article: NXIVM guru gets 120 years in prison in sex-slaves caseRaniere, a self-improvement guru whose organization NXIVM attracted millionaires and actresses among its adherents, faces sentencing Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, on convictions that he turned some female followers into sex slaves branded with his initials. The judge told a woman who Raniere ordered to be kept in a room for two years when she was 18: โWhat happened to you is not your fault." Prosecutors had sought life in prison, while a defense lawyer told the judge Raniere should face 20 years behind bars. The judge said Raniere groomed a 13-year-old girl so that โtwo years later he's having sex with a 15-year-old girl." Ex-followers told the judge that Bronfman for years had used her wealth to try to silence NXIVM defectors.
Seagram's heir sentenced to prison in branded sex slave case
Read full article: Seagram's heir sentenced to prison in branded sex slave caseClare Bronfman arrives at federal court, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Bronfman, the Seagram's liquor fortune heir and a wealthy benefactor of Keith Raniere, the disgraced leader of a self-improvement group NXIVM in upstate New York convicted of turning women into sex slaves who were branded with his initials, faces sentencing Wednesday in the federal conspiracy case. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)NEW YORK โ A wealthy benefactor of Keith Raniere, the disgraced leader of a self-improvement group in upstate New York convicted of turning women into sex slaves who were branded with his initials, was sentenced Wednesday to almost seven years in prison in the federal conspiracy case. Seagramโs liquor fortune heir Clare Bronfman was taken into custody to begin her 81-month sentence immediately after her appearance in federal court in Brooklyn. As part of a plea agreement, Bronfman agreed to forfeit $6 million from a fortune prosecutors have said is worth $200 million.
Sentencing date set for NY self-help guru in sex slave case
Read full article: Sentencing date set for NY self-help guru in sex slave caseNEW YORK The leader of a cult-like self-improvement group in upstate New York who was convicted last year on charges that he turned some of his followers into sex slaves will face sentencing on Oct. 27, a judge said Friday. We need to figure out how to configure the courtroom to make sure everyone is safe in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the judge said. At trial, prosecutors told jurors that the 59-year-old Ranieres organization, NXIVM pronounced NEHK-see-uhm operated like a cult that won him the devotion of a wealthy heiress and Hollywood actresses. Prosecutors said he formed a secret subgroup comprised of brainwashed female slaves who were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him. Raniere is facing 15 years to life in prison.