NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere has claimed his women followers chose to be branded with his initials as an ‘honorary thing’ and a ‘tribute’ which made him feel ‘almost embarrassed’ in his first interview since being jailed for 120 years.
Raniere, 60, told Dateline in a special that aired Friday that he ‘didn’t come up with’ the idea to tattoo his initials K.A.R. above the bikini lines of the members of the secret master-slave group DOS.
The cult leader, dubbed ‘Vanguard’ within his inner circle, also claimed he is ‘against tattooing’ but insisted if it was Albert Einstein or Brad Pitt’s initials ‘no one would care’.
Raniere, was speaking via phone from the maximum security federal penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona, where he is serving 120 years for turning cult followers into sex slaves and sexually abusing a 15-year-old.
NXIVM started out as a purported self-help group in Albany, New York, in the 1990s, offering personal improvement and professional development training programs.
Raniere then formed Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS) – a secret master/slave club where women were branded, turned into his sex slaves, made to live off just 500 calories a day and forced to make a lifetime vow to obey their ‘masters’.
Raniere was convicted in 2019 on charges that included sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, human trafficking and multiple counts of racketeering – including sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography, extortion and identity theft.
NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere (pictured) has claimed his women followers chose to be branded with his initials as an ‘honorary thing’ and a ‘tribute’ which made him feel ‘almost embarrassed’ in his first interview since being jailed for 120 years
Raniere, 60, told Dateline in a special that aired Friday that he ‘didn’t come up with’ the idea to tattoo his initials K.A.R. above the bikini lines of the members of the secret master-slave group DOS. Pictured a brand received by a female member
The cult leader denied ordering the branding of his cult followers, despite audio played during his trial revealing him planning the ceremonies with cult member and his alleged second-in-command Smallville actress Allison Mack.
‘I didn’t come up with the branding. If you look at my long-term partners, I’m even against tattooing,’ he told Dateline.
‘I don’t have tattoos. None of my partners have tattoos.
‘If my partners want to get them, that’s up to them. But I am dissuasive of it.’
Raniere claimed it was a choice the women made and that they didn’t want painkillers so they could ‘feel it.’
‘They even chose to do it without anaesthetics so that they would feel it,’ he said.
‘No, no ordering whatsoever.’
He recited court testimony to argue the women ‘agreed to it.’
‘Someone being branded they agreed to it as one of the four conditions to even be considered for entrance into the sorority and that was said in testimony.’
Raniere claimed women having their initials tattooed on him made him ‘almost embarrassed’ but that the women wanted to do it as a ‘tribute’ to him.
‘No [I didn’t try to stop it] but I was slightly in a way almost embarrassed,’ he said.
‘At first I thought ‘well if it was Albert Einstein’s initials then no one would care.’ And then I thought ‘If it was Brad Pitt’s initials, maybe you’d have some jealous husband.’
‘But that’s not what I’m like so I took it as an honorary thing – a tribute thing. And that brand was going to be tattooed over anyway. It was symbolic.’
The cult leader spoke to Dateline via phone from the maximum security federal penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona, where he is serving 120 years for turning cult followers into sex slaves and sexually abusing a 15-year-old
During Raniere’s 2019 trial in Brooklyn federal court, more than a dozen former DOS members testified about how they were branded in their pubic region with an insignia during a nude ceremony.
One witness, former DOS slave-master Lauren Salzman, described the branding as ‘the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced’.
Prosecutors presented audio of Raniere and his alleged second-in-command, Smallville actress Allison Mack, planning the ceremonies in January 2017.
Raniere was heard saying that he wanted the women to recite an oath during the service.
‘The person should also ask to be branded,’ he said. ‘Master please brand me. It would be an honor, and an honor I want to wear for the rest of my life. Although my body may be burned or tortured or whatever, my love is stronger.’
‘They should probably say that before they’re held down so it doesn’t seem like they’re being coerced,’ he added.
Raniere also said that he wanted the ceremonies to resemble a human sacrifice ritual.
‘Do you think the person who’s being branded should be completely nude and held to the table, almost like a sacrifice?’ he asked Mack in the recording.
‘That’s a feeling of submission. Laying on the back, legs spread straight, held to the table. Hands above the head, probably held, almost like sacrificial.’
Raniere in a court sketch during his October sentencing. Dubbed ‘Vanguard’ within the cult, Raniere told Dateline he is ‘against tattooing’ but insisted if it was Albert Einstein or Brad Pitt’s initials ‘no one would care’
Raniere in a court sketch during his trial in June 2019. NXIVM started out as a purported self-help group in Albany, New York, in the 1990s. Raniere then formed Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS) – a secret master/slave club where women were branded, turned into his sex slaves, made to live off just 500 calories a day and forced to make a lifetime vow to obey their ‘masters
Raniere also denied using ‘collateral’ to blackmail women after cult followers testified he forced them to hand over embarrassing documents and explicit naked photos of themselves.
‘I did not take the collateral at all. I did not have possession of the collateral whatsoever,’ he told Dateline.
He admitted he had ‘seen’ some of the collateral but ‘did not have possession of the collateral whatsoever’ and vowed to ‘fight’ the accusation ‘another time’.
‘I did not take the collateral at all. I did not have possession of the collateral whatsoever. Not not seen but did not possess,’ he added.
The 60-year-old said he does ‘apologize’ for his ‘participation’ in the suffering of the victims but brushed off the damage caused saying ‘it happens’.
‘Yes I apologize for my participation in all this pain and suffering. I have clearly participated… this is a horrible situation,’ he said.
When asked if he is sorry for the damage he has caused his victims, Raniere interjects saying ‘that I’ve participated in’ not ’caused’.
‘I say damage I’ve participated in because I don’t believe we’re always the cause of all of it,’ he said.
‘We are the cause more or less but all the damages I can fathom I participated in, I feel responsible for. It’s not just a matter of ‘did I cause it all myself?’
Smallville actress Allison Mack was also charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Mack (right) is pictured with NXIVM member Nicki Clyne (left)
Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman (left), another prominent cult member, was sentenced to six years in prison in September. Dr Danielle Roberts (right), who branded the women, has never faced any charges but her medical license is under review for her involvement in NXIVM
‘I’m involved in the cause of it and for that that haunts me forever.’
However, despite this admission of wrongdoing, Raniere continued to protest his ‘innocence’.
‘Well, being innocent of crimes and being innocent if you will of any wrongdoing or you know, people cause damages inadvertently and well-intentioned damages… and they don’t mean to damage but it happens,’ he said.
During his sentencing hearing Raniere claimed he was ‘deeply remorseful’ but insisted he was wrongly accused.
His legal team is now planning an appeal with the convicted criminal claiming prosecutors ‘rigged’ the case against him.
Raniere was found guilty in Brooklyn federal court in June 2019 of seven counts of racketeering, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child and human trafficking.
The sexual exploitation count relates to a girl who was just 15 when a 45-year-old Raniere had sex with her and took nude photos of her.
Raniere in his mug. A federal judge then sentenced him in October 2020 to spend the rest of his life in prison
The girl, who is now an adult, and her two sisters also fell pregnant by him and say he forced them to have abortions.
He also punished young women including a teenager who he held in a bedroom for two years as punishment because she had gained weight and shown a romantic interest in another man.
A federal judge then sentenced him in October 2020 to spend the rest of his life in prison after 15 of his victims spoke or had victim impact statements read out in court.
He was transferred to the federal prison in Arizona that specializes in sex offenders last month after being sentenced in October to 120 years in prison.
Mack, 38, was also charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy in April 2018.
She pleaded guilty and is out on house arrest while awaiting sentencing, where she faces up to 40 years in prison.
Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman, another prominent cult member, was sentenced to six years in prison in September for conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain, and to fraudulent use of identification.
Dr Danielle Roberts, who branded the women, has never faced any charges but her medical license is under review for her involvement in NXIVM.