Days before Allison Mack is set to be sentenced for her role in the NXIVM sex cult, she is apologizing to all those she hurt as second in command to the group’s mastermind, Keith Raniere.
In a letter to the court released Saturday, the former “Smallville” actor asked for leniency in her case and called her involvement in NXIVM the “biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life.”
Raniere’s criminal enterprise, based in Albany, New York, disguised itself as a self-empowerment group, amassing thousands of followers around the world at its peak. In reality, NXIVM sexually exploited and brainwashed women into obeying Raniere and other high-ranking members, including Mack, who was one of the group’s top recruiters.
“I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man,” Mack, 38, wrote in a statement obtained by Variety this weekend. “I am sorry that I encouraged you to use your resources to participate in something that was ultimately so ugly.”
“I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had,” she continued. “I believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him. This was the biggest mistake and regret of my life.”
Mack was arrested in 2018 with Raniere and other top members of NXIVM, and charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. She later pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges related to her involvement with the group, admitting in court to blackmailing several women, who were forced to brand themselves with Raniere’s initials and engage in sexual activity with him.
Mack could face 14 to 17 years in prison if convicted, but is seeking a sentence without incarceration, given the assistance she provided in the case against Raniere, including a crucial audiotape that documented his role in the branding ceremony.
Raniere was found guilty in 2019 on seven felony charges. He was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
In a sentencing memo submitted on Friday, Mack’s attorneys said she has “turned her life around” in the three years since she was charged, and has been “earnestly dedicated to her rehabilitation.” They note that she has reconnected with her family, maintained a catering job and pursued a degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
Mack “therefore respectfully asks the Court to permit her to continue down this path of growth and reform by imposing a sentence without incarceration, and which would permit her to continue her academic studies,” the memo says, according to Variety.
Describing this period as the “most devastating, but transformative time of my life” in her own letter, Mack said she is dedicated to spending the rest of her life trying to right her wrongs and become a more compassionate person.
“I know that coming out the other side, I am a better, kinder woman because of this,” she wrote. “I know I cannot heal the pain my betrayal has caused to you and your loved ones, but I can promise you that your hurt has not gone unseen and acknowledging this has changed me to my core.”
Mack is due to be sentenced on June 30 in Brooklyn, New York.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
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