Allison Mack Uses Scientology In Her Sex Cult Case Defense
See how 'Smallville' star tries to prove she's not guilty of inducing forced labor.
Dec. 30 2018, Updated 2:30 p.m. ET
Allison Mack's lawyers are contending that she isn't guilty of inducing forced labor if the Church of Scientology isn't guilty of the same charge. That's the latest news in the sordid NXIVM sex cult case, as Deadline has reported. The former Smallville actress, 36, is mounting a vigorous defense after she was arrested by the FBI on April 20, 2018, as RadarOnline.com has previously reported.
Mack has been accused of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy involving her role in the NXIVM organization, which was headed by Keith Raniere. In court papers filed on Friday, December 29 in Brooklyn Federal Court and obtained by Deadline, Mack’s legal eagles argued that her threat to release naked photos and disparaging statements made by cult members against their relatives doesn’t rise to the threat of “serious harm” required to prove someone engaged in forced labor.
But Mack and Raniere are facing charges that they allegedly used the photos and statements as "collateral" to make the alleged victims work for free and to be forced to have sex with Raniere, 58.
According to the new legal docs, the attorneys noted, "The government argues that Ms. Mack obtained forced labor through ‘threats of serious harm,’ with serious harm being the embarrassment that would result from the exposure of one’s collateral. Courts have found, however, that such an outcome, albeit embarrassing, does not amount to serious harm under the statute."
The argument cites a 2009 case in which a couple unsuccessfully sued the Church of Scientology for forced labor.
The actress' attorneys wrote, "The court did not find that plaintiffs were compelled to remain in the organization even though, if they chose to leave, they would be ‘excommunicated’ from their friends and family and labeled a ‘dissenter.' The threat of reputational damage and isolation from loved ones therefore did not qualify as serious harm." RadarOnline.com reported that after her arrest, Mack was released on $5 million bond and was placed on house arrest at her parents’ home in Los Alamitos, California while she awaits her trial.
If convicted, Mack will face 15 years to life in prison. The legal documents claim that NXIVM created a master/slave structure with Raniere allegedly running the cult. Mack was allegedly one of the women high up in his organization. She's alleged to have recruited women into the cult and required her "slave" women to have sex with Raniere.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, NXIVM women members allegedly underwent a terrifying "branding" process in which they were required to strip down, lie on a medical table and have a "hot cauterizing iron" seared into their skin to make a tattoo of Raniere's initials.
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