Payback! NXIVM Sex Cult Victims Sue Leader Keith Raniere
Jan. 29 2020, Published 5:02 p.m. ET
More than 80 people have filed a lawsuit against NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and 14 of his key associates, claiming the alleged cult-like organization caused them to be physically and psychologically abused, while also making them participate in labor and medical experiments and serve as sex slaves.
In the lawsuit – which was filed on Tuesday, January 28, in the Brooklyn federal court – the group seeks unspecified monetary damages.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Raniere, 59, was found guilty in June 2019 of seven felonies including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit identity theft, sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography, forced labor conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy.
He’s currently awaiting sentencing and faces life in prison.
Former NXIVM members Sarah Edmundson, Toni Natalie and Mark Vicente, joined dozens of others who are listed as Jane or John Does in the lawsuit, claiming that the cult used psychological treatments that amounted to a “pseudo-scientific hodgepodge of psychotherapeutic methods.”
According to the lawsuit, the allegedly corrupt organization recruited thousands of "students" who signed up for professional development training courses, only to become trapped in a never-ending cycle of high-priced classes and changing curriculums.
“NXIVM preyed on earnest, intelligent people who wanted to better themselves and the world through what they thought to be a humanitarian undertaking of unprecedented scope,” Neil Glazer, a Philadelphia-based lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said in a written statement.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, some members of the group were allegedly forced into a sex-slave ring that Raniere launched called “DOS,” in which women were forced to regularly have sex with him while also maintaining strict diets and following insane workouts in order to please his physical demands.
The women were even allegedly forced to undergo a terrifying branding process that required them to strip down, lay on a medical table and have a “hot cauterizing iron” seared into their skin for 45 minutes.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Also named in the suit are members of the NXIVM “inner circle,” including Seagram booze heiresses Claire and Sara Bronfman, and Smallville TV actress Allison Mack.
