Smallville actress Allison Mack has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for her involvement in NXIVM, the alleged sex cult founded by Keith Raniere, People reports.
Mack first pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges in 2019, and was facing up to 40 years behind bars. The sentencing also comes with a $20,000 fine, and was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday.
“I made choices I will forever regret,” she said at the sentencing, per the Associated Press. “From the deepest part of my heart and soul, I am sorry.” In a letter Mack filed with the court last week, she denounced Raniere as a “twisted man” who concocted “nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes.” She used the letter as an opportunity to apologize to those she recruited into NXIVM. "I do not take lightly the responsibility I have in the lives of those I love and I feel a heavy weight of guilt for having misused your trust, leading you down a negative path," she wrote.
Prosecutors requested in a recent sentencing memo that Mack get a relaxed sentence because she “provided substantial assistance to the government” in the case. Earlier this month, it was reported she gave authorities access to a tape where Raniere, the leader of the alleged abusive sex cult, spoke about branding members, or “slaves,” of the cult with his initials.
The information Mack provided to prosecutors also detailed how Raniere encouraged “the use of demeaning and derogatory language, including racial slurs, to humiliate ‘slaves.'"
In the request from the prosecutors, it was acknowledged Mack was considered to be a “master” within the cult, recruiting women by encouraging them to submit nude photos, and have sex with Raniere. “The government recognizes the seriousness of the offense conduct in this case which… caused extraordinary harm and pain to the victims in this case,” the memo reads.
As the leader of NXIVM, Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison in October, 2020. He was found guilty of identity theft, obstruction of justice, wire and visa fraud, forced labor, human trafficking, money laundering, sex trafficking, child exploitation, and possession of child pornography among other charges.
Raniere was first arrested in March 2018 after fleeing to Mexico with Mack and others involved with NXIVM and its secret society, DOS. The secret society, or underground network, stands for Dominus Obsequious Sororium, Latin for Master Over Slave Women. Ranierer allegedly mandated all women involved with DOS be on strict diets, branded with his initials, and groomed to have sex with him. Mack admitted in court to concealing Raniere’s role as the head of NXIVM’s DOS.
