Former Smallville actress Kristen Kreuk has broken her silence on her involvement in the sex cult that co-star Allison Mack rose to the top of.
Kreuk has denied that she helped recruit women to be ‘sex slaves’ in the secretive New York-based group called NXIVM after cult leader Keith Raniere was arrested this week for sex trafficking.
Following Raniere’s arrest in the Mexican resort village of Puerto Vallarta, reports emerged that Kreuk had allegedly lured women into the organization.
Raniere, 57, ran NXIVM as a self-help organization for years but later created a secret society within it called DOS, which former members have described as a ‘sex cult’.
Former Smallville actress Kristen Kreuk (left) has denied that she helped recruit women to be ‘sex slaves’ in the NXIVM cult that her co-star Allison Mack (right) rose to the top of
Cult leader Keith Raniere was arrested (pictured above) in Mexican resort village of Puerto Vallarta this week and extradited to Texas to face sex trafficking charges
Kreuk said in a Twitter statement on Thursday that she had taken a course at NXIVM when she was 23 that she understood to be a ‘self-help/personal growth course that helped me with my previous shyness’.
‘I left about five years ago and have had minimal contact with those who were still involved. The accusations that I was in the ‘inner circle’ or recruiting women as ‘sex slaves’ are blatantly false,’ she said.
‘During my time, I never experienced an illegal or nefarious activity.
‘I am horrified and disgusted by what has come out about DOS. Thank you to all the brave women who have come forward to share their stories and expose DOS; I can’t imagine how difficult this has been for you.
‘I am deeply disturbed and embarrassed to have been associated with NXIVM. I hope that the investigation leads to justice for all of those affected.’
Her former Smallville co-star Allison Mack is said to be Raniere’s right-hand woman at NXIVM, sources told DailyMail.com.
Mack was among those filmed chased down Mexican police officers after they arrested Raniere over the weekend – four months after he crossed the border following the launch of a federal probe into his cult.
Video that was first obtained by Art Voice shows Mack in a state of disbelief as officials arrest Raniere. The women can then be heard saying that they are going to get into a car and follow the officers.
On the run: A group of women that includes Smallville actress Allison Mack (above) chases after the police car after it leaves the $10,000-a-week property
South of the border: Mack posted a photo of herself at a coffee shop in Mexico earlier this month
A local authority tells DailyMail.com that the women then engaged in a high-speed car chase with police.
Mexican authorities found Raniere surrounded by a group of women at a $10,000-a-week luxury villa on Sunday.
He was extradited to Fort Worth, Texas on Monday and charged with sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy.
An individual with former ties to NXIVM told DailyMail.com that Mack was joined in the video by a group of women including actress Nicki Clyne and high-profile members Lauren Salzman and Loreta Garza.
Mack is believed to have only recently traveled down to Mexico with her social media showing her in the area for just the past month.
The group, which has been described by former members as a ‘sex cult’, claims to be a self-help organization that operates centers in US, Mexico, Canada and South America.
It emerged last year that the Dalai Lama was paid $1 million to speak to 3,000 NXIVM followers and place a khata – a traditional ceremonial Tibetan scarf – around Raniere’s neck.
Raniere left the US last year after the New York Times reported that some women who joined a group in his organization had been branded with a symbol that included his initials.
The women told investigators they were subjected to ‘master-slave’ conditions that involved physical punishments for disobeying orders.
‘As alleged in the complaint, Keith Raniere created a secret society of women whom he had sex with and branded with his initials, coercing them with the threat of releasing their highly personal information and taking their assets,’ US attorney Richard P. Donoghue said.
Sex cult leader Keith Raniere, 57, was taken into custody by Mexican authorities and deported back to the US after he was found at a luxury villa in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday
Many DOS slaves were branded on their pelvic areas using a cauterizing pen with a symbol which, unbeknownst to them, incorporated Raniere’s initials, according to past members
The complaint said Raniere founded NXIVM about 20 years ago and held a series of purported self-help workshops. Since NXIVM’s creation, Raniere has maintained poly-amorous relationships with its members, according to the complaint.
Courses associated with the group costs thousands of dollars each and participants are encouraged to pay for additional classes and to recruit others in order to rise within the ranks of NXIVM.
According to the complaint, Raniere created a secret society within Nxivm called DOS in 2015, which loosely translated to ‘Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions’, or ‘The Vow’.
DOS operated with levels of women slaves headed by masters and most were recruited from within NXIVM’s ranks.
When new DOS slaves were recruited, they were required to provide collateral, which included highly damaging information about friends and family members, nude photographs and/or rights to the recruit’s assets.
The complaint says DOS slaves feared that their collateral could be released by the group if they left.
Many DOS slaves were branded on their pelvic areas using a cauterizing pen with a symbol which, unbeknownst to them, incorporated Raniere’s initials, according to the court documents.
During the branding ceremonies, slaves were required to be fully naked and a master would order one slave to film the branding while the others restrained the slave being branded.
Mack was considered a high-ranking member of the cult and was believed to have been second in charge to Raniere.
Former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg had previously met with prosecutors in New York to detail her daughter India’s experience in the group
Former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg had previously met with prosecutors in New York to detail her daughter’s experience in the group.
Oxenberg, through her lawyers at Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, said she hoped Raniere’s arrest would go as far as reuniting her with her daughter.
‘I want to help all the young women affected by this cult. They are the victims of human trafficking, which is slavery,’ she said.
‘For months, I have worked to expose Keith Raniere and Nxivm and today’s arrest vindicates my efforts.
‘I want my daughter to know I love her and that I want her back in my life.’
If convicted, Raniere could be sentenced to life in prison.
‘As alleged, Keith Raniere displayed a disgusting abuse of power in his efforts to denigrate and manipulate women he considered his sex slaves,’ FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney said.
‘He allegedly participated in horrifying acts of branding and burning them, with the cooperation of other women operating within this unorthodox pyramid scheme.
‘These serious crimes against humanity are not only shocking, but disconcerting to say the least, and we are putting an end to this torture today.’