Allison Mack arrived in federal court on Friday morning for a status conference in her sex trafficking case.
It marked the first time that the Smallville star has been seen in New York since she was released last week after posting $5 million bail and agreeing to cut all ties with Nxivm, with Mack being accused of recruiting women to join the cult and then turning them into branded sex slaves.
Her appearance on Friday also marked the first time that she came face-to-face with Nxivm leader Keith Raniere since her arrest, and the news that she was seeking a plea deal in the case by offering up evidence to lawyers for the Eastern District of New York.
Mack and Raniere have both been charged arraigned on two federal charges of sex trafficking and one of conspiracy to commit forced labor.
The two are both facing a possible sentence of life in prison.
Back in black: Allison Mack (above on Friday) appeared in front of Judge Nicholas Garaufis on Friday for a status conference in her sex trafficking case
Flanked: The Smallville star, 35, was released last week on $5million bail after agreeing to cut all ties with the cult Nxivm (Mack arrives with her lawyers on Friday)
Big shift: On Friday, Mack came face-to-face with Nxivm leader Keith Raniere for the first time since declaring in court papers that she was seeking a plea deal in the case
Mack was able to secure the $5 million bond last week thanks to her mother Melinda putting up her house as collateral along with a retirement account in addition to Mack’s New York home in Clifton Park.
Movers were seen at that property on Monday carrying out Mack’s belongings.
Melinda was in court to support her daughter last week, and traveled home with her to Los Alamitos where she the actress has been monitored by officials from the Central District of California.
It was also Melinda who signed off on the bond, with a condition being that the money not be provided by any member of the cult.
Mack filed an application for an Order of Excludable Delay on Friday requesting that trial against her not commence until after May 3, stating that her legal team and attorneys for the Eastern District of New York were in plea negotiations.
She then informed the court that there is a ‘reasonable likelihood’ the negotiations ‘will result in a disposition of this case without trial.’
This application was filed shortly after she entered a plea of not guilty to the three charges she is facing in the case.
The allegations against Raniere and Mack were outlined in the Complaint and Affidavit in Support of Arrest Warrant that was filed back on February 14.
Special Agent Michael Lever with the FBI had been investigating Raniere and speaking with former cult members, including two women known as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2.
Lever states that Raniere came up with the idea for Nxivm’s sex slave program, known as DOS, during the summer of 2015.
A woman by the name of CC-1, who was revealed to be Mack in subsequent filings, was his first ‘slave,’ and provided ‘colateral’ which guaranteed she would remain faithful to him by providing Raniere with damning material.
‘CC-1’s email was titled “vow 3” and included an attached letter. The letter pledged CC-1’s “full and complete life” to 14 RANIERE,’ reads the complaint.
‘In the letter, CC-1 used the terms “slave” and “master” to refer to herself and RANIERE. Moreover, the letter identified “collateral” to “cement” the vow made by CC-1.
‘This collateral was described as: (1) a letter regarding CC-1 ‘smother and father that would “destroy their character”; (2) a contract that transferred custody of any children birthed by CC-1 to RANIERE if CC-1 broke her commitment to RANIERE; (3) a contract that transferred ownership of CC-1 ‘s home if the commitment to RANIERE was broken; and (4) a letter addressed to social services alleging abuse to CC-1 ‘s nephews.’
It is not clear if any of the claims made in those letters were true.
Soon, CC-1 was recruiting slaves of her own and filling out the pyramid that Raniere had hoped to create, selecting Jane Doe 1 as one of these women.
Jane Doe 1 stated that her first meeting with Raniere ended with the leader questioning her devotion, but soon things took a bizarre turn.
‘The next night CC-1 again received a text message from RANIERE, woke Jane Doe 1 in the middle of the night and assigned her to meet RANIERE and tell him she would do anything he asked her to do. Jane Doe 1 did as she was assigned, and RANIERE led her to a house across the street,’ reads the complaint.
‘RANIERE directed her to remove all her clothes and made comments about her naked body. RANIERE then blindfolded Jane Doe 1, led her into a car and drove her around in a manner that made Jane Doe 1 believe RANIERE was trying to prevent her from knowing where they were going.
‘RANIERE led, Jane Doe 1, still blindfolded, through some trees, into what she believed was a shack, and tied her to a table.
‘Another person in the room, who Jane Doe 1 did not previously know was present, began performing oral sex on Jane Doe 1 as RANIERE circled the table making comments.
‘Jane Doe 1 did not want to participate in this sexual activity, but believed it was part of her commitment to DOS and that if she broke her commitment to DOS her collateral could be released.’
Jane Doe 1 said that she then began to frequently have sex with Raniere while also frequently posing nude for CC-1, who on one occasion sent ‘close-up pictures of [her slaves’] vaginas’ to Raniere.
This was not the only task Jane Doe 1 had to undertake, as she was also responsible for reading, reviewing and editing Raniere’s writings and texts.
Allegations of Raniere’s alarming and illegal sexual predilections are also outlined in a letter sent by US Attorney Richard P Donoghue to Judge Steven M Gold back in March.
‘According to confidential sources, the defendant had repeated sexual encounters with multiple teenage girls in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s,’ reads the letter.
‘In one instance, the defendant met a fifteen-year-old girl while he was in his 20s and had repeated sexual contact with her. In another instance, the defendant met a twelve-year-old girl whose mother worked for the defendant and began tutoring her.’
The letter goes on to say: ‘Shortly thereafter, the defendant began having regular sexual intercourse with her, including at his home where he lived with multiple adult sexual partners.’
Raniere is also said to have voiced his belief that the age of consent should be lowered to when a parent believes their child is capable of performing sexual activity.
It has now been four days since Mack was arrested and arraigned on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor.
Those are the same charges thatRaniere, 53, is being charged with, and both are facing a possible sentence of life behind bars.
Raniere could be spared from serving any time though, with a former publicist for Nxivm telling DailyMail.com that member India Oxenberg has said she is willing to take the fall for Raniere if it will keep him out of prison.
Frank Parlato, who has been covering Nxivm extensively on Art Voice, said that the female members of the cult have devised a plan they hope will save Raniere.
First, all female members are prepared to deny that they were ever forced or coerced into performing sex acts in an attempt to discredit the allegations made by the two former members whose grand jury testimony resulted in the indictments of Mack and Raniere.
If that does not work, Oxenberg is prepared to testify that they alone were responsible for coercing members into having sex claims Parlato.
‘Mack, Oxenberg and Clyne have made a pact to go to prison, saying privately they are ready to walk into prison tomorrow if Raniere could be free today,’ reports Parlato.
That has likely changed in light of Mack’s release.
Parlato tells DailyMail.com that Mack’s arrest had been in the works ever since Raniere’s extradition from Mexico to the United States back in March.
He posted video of Raniere’s arrest at the time, which showed Mack in a state of disbelief as officials dragged away the self-proclaimed Svengali.
The grand jury indictment states that Mack did ‘benefit … financially and by receiving a thing of value, from participation in a venture … knowing that means of force, threats of force, fraud and coercion, and a combination of such means, would be used to cause such persons to engage in one or more commercial sex acts.’
The first of the women to testify in front of the grand jury, Jane Doe 1, also said that Mack ‘did knowingly and intentionally conspire to provide and obtain the labor and services of a person …. by means of serious harm and threats.’
‘As alleged in the indictment, Allison Mack recruited women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere,’ United States Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement on Friday.
‘The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit. This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting predators who victimize others through sex trafficking and forced labor.’
Mack had been serving as leader of the cult for the past month DailyMail.com previously revealed, a role she assumed after Raniere was arrested by authorities in Mexico.
Both her initials and those of Raniere’s were branded on the pelvic area of women who joined the organization.
The group had a large base in Albany, but a number of its most high-profile members decamped to Mexico earlier this year.
They are now in Broooklyn.