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By Rich Schapiro and Tom Winter
Former "Smallville" actress Allison Mack is slated to plead guilty Monday in the case of the upstate New York self-help group that prosecutors say doubled as a secret sex cult.
Mack, 36, is set to appear in a Brooklyn courtroom to admit that she participated in criminal activity as a high-ranking member of NXIVM, according to a notice on the court calendar of the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York.
Mack had pleaded not guilty last July to charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. She was among six people indicted last year for their roles in running the controversial group led by Keith Raniere, who prosecutors say ran a master-slave ring within the organization with Mack's help.
As part of the secret group inside NXIVM, known as DOS, women were pressured to have sex with Raniere and brand his initials into their flesh, court papers say.
Prosecutors said Mack, described as a "first-line master" in DOS, engaged in the sex trafficking, forced labor and extortion of a woman identified in court papers as Jane Doe 5.
It was not immediately clear which charges Mack would be pleading guilty to, or whether she would be entering into a cooperation agreement.
Mack's lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.
NXIVM supporters say it was a self-help group committed to changing the world. Prosecutors have described it as a criminal enterprise built around a pyramid scheme designed to enrich the top officials and supply Raniere with a stable of sex "slaves."
Two defendants, Nancy Salzman and her daughter Lauren, have already pleaded guilty in the case.
Raniere, who was known inside the organization as "Vanguard," was hit with child pornography charges last month. He had already pleaded not guilty to racketeering, trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Raniere is expected to go on trial later this month. Others ensnared in the case include NXIVM accountant Kathy Russell and Seagram's liquor heiress Claire Bronfman. They have all denied the allegations.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/actress-allison-mack-plead-guilty-role-alleged-new-york-sex-n992091
2019-04-08 15:44:00Z
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