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US actress Allison Mack pleads guilty in New York to charges in 'sex cult' case

Mack could face 40 years in prison when she is sentenced.

US ACTRESS ALLISON Mack has pleaded guilty to racketeering after allegedly recruiting women to a cult-like secret society that turned followers into “slaves” and coerced them into having sex.

Mack (36) was arrested a year ago on sex trafficking charges for getting the women to join Nxivm, a purported mentoring organisation that forced them to have intercourse with 58-year-old leader Keith Raniere.

Mack, best known for her role as Clark Kent’s friend in superhero television series Smallville, was one of six defendants in a federal indictment filed against members of Nxivm, based near Albany in upstate New York.

She admitted racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, and could face up to 40 years in prison when she is sentenced on 11 September.

Before being accepted as ‘slaves’, women had to provide compromising photos and other personal effects, which the organisation threatened to make public if they tried to leave.

They also had their skin branded with Raniere’s initials as other members held them still and filmed.

Another of the high-profile defendants in the case is Clare Bronfman, heiress to the Canadian Seagram liquor empire. She and a sister are believed to have given more than $100 million to the group.

© – AFP 2019

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