Co-Founder of a New York Sex Cult Gets Prison Sentence
Another high ranking member of a sex cult in here in upstate New York was sentenced to prison earlier this week.
It's been big news in recent years but this specific cult has been on my radar since I moved to New York over 5 years ago. NXIVM has made a lot of headlines over the past 2 years as the group quickly came crumbling down. It was even the focus of a Lifetime original movie.
I was fascinated with NXIVM long before there reports of dangerous activity. When I first moved to Albany I had heard about the group. It was kind of a place that everyone knew about but didn't understand or really seem to care about.
NXIVM was founded by businessman Keith Raniere who reportedly had a genius level IQ. He obtained several degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was even featured in Forbes back in 2003.
NXIVM reportedly gained attention years ago after the Attorney General suspected that group may have made a substantial amount of money from a pyramid scheme.
The view of NXIVM changed once information about the group's more sinister actions behind the scenes went public. Abuse, sex slavery and even branding when were reportedly happening among group members. These allegations led to the arrest of its founder, Keith Raniere and Smallville actress, Allison Mack.
On Wednesday, the co-founder of the group, Nancy Salzman was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy according to NBC News.