Allison Mack sentencing: Smallville star jailed for three years for NXIVM role as she slams Raniere

Allison Mack’s younger sister told the judge ahead of Wednesday’s sentencing that the 38-year-old was reformed individual working towards a “softer, kinder, more accountable lifestyle”, in a letter seen by Variety.

“I often reflect on her arrest as a blessing in disguise: never in my life have I felt so deeply immersed in sisterhood as I do now,” said the sister. “She is an invaluable member of our family, and is unafraid to speak truth when we need to hear it.”

“Her indomitable thirst for responsible, honest, compassionate living permeates every interaction she has and every challenge she undertakes.”

The judge at Brooklyn’s federal court is expected to consider the letters testifying to Ms Mack’s reformed character when sentencing the former actress for her role in NXIVM.

An alleged victim of NXIVM said in 2019 that Allison Mack encouraged her to join the group, and that her involvement became steadily deeper.

The victim, Nicole, told the court: ”There were so many things that were added on later once you were, like, sealed into this situation.”

She was also asked to hand over “collateral”, or compromising material, to Ms Mack to prove her loyalty to NXIVM. Ms Mack, who later pleased guilty to charges of sex trafficking, was later said to have pushed Nicole to communicate with the group’s leader, Keith Raniere, who abused women.

Another victim of NXIVM and it’s founder Keith Raniere, has been interviewed by ABC News’s “Good Morning America” ahead of the sentencing of Allison Mack, who was a so-called “master” of the cult.

India Oxenberg, a survivor of the group, said of Ms Mack: “Her worst quality, is just the fact that she treated people..she dehumanised people, she was inhumane and that’s hard to come back from”.

Ms Oxenberg said she was encouraged to join NXIVM, which was described by Ms Mack as a group for female self-empowerment. She belonged to the group for seven years, up until it was disbanded following Raniere’s arrest in 2018.

The actress and star of Superman spin-off series “Smallville” issued a series of apologies ahead of her sentencing, in which she spoke of “overwhelming shame” for her role in the sex cult, NXIVM.

She told the judge, who has been asked to consider giving the 38-year-old no jail time by her lawyers, that she was “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. I am sorry that I encouraged you to use your resources to participate in something that was ultimately so ugly”.

“I also want to apologise to all the friends and loved ones I have hurt throughout this process who were not involved in NXIVM. I know many of you fought hard to show me the truth about NXIVM and Keith, but I didn't listen,” added Ms Mack.

“Please know that I am dedicated to spending my life working to mend the hearts I broke and continuing to transform myself into a more loving and compassionate woman.”

"She cannot undo what has been done, and she will have to live with the regret for the rest of her life," wrote lawyers for Allison Mack wrote in a court memo, in which they appealed for her to avoid jail time.

They continued: "Ms Mack still holds the potential to be valuable to society - as a family member, as a friend, as a helper to those in need and as a cautionary tale."

The star of TV series “Smallville” was said to have forced women to hand over compromising materials as a form of blackmail members into complying with the NXIVM sex cult, led by Keith Raniere, as Reuters reported.

Federal prosecutors have not requested a specific sentence, but have said it should be less than the 14 years called for by federal guidelines in light of her "substantial assistance" in the investigation of NXIVM and Raniere.

Ms Mack has pleaded guilty.

The 38-year-old was pictured walking into the Brooklyn federal court where she will be sentenced for her role in the NXIVM sex cult on Wednesday.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis is set to deliver the sentence, which lawyers for Ms Mack have said should avoid jail time. Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, acknowledge that her sentence should be reduced in recognition of her cooperation in the case.

She faces charges of sex trafficking and manipulating women into joining the NXIVM, where they were forced to be “slaves” for its jailed leader, Keith Raniere.

A woman who left NXVIM after she was allegedly asked to have sex with the organisation’s leader, Keith Raniere, has said she will be addressing the court at Ms Mack's sentencing.

The woman, CNN reported, said she hopes Ms Mack is not handed a reduced sentence by the judge.

Jessica Joan, an actress who joined NXIVM, has said although there was “an aspect of forgiveness” towards Allison Mack for her role in the sex cult, there was a need for “accountability by her”.

"I want to tell her my truth. I want to let her know all of the pain and suffering that she caused," Ms Joan told CNN. “I believe the judge will give a sentence that will bring justice."

NXIVM (pronounced 'Nex-E-Um') had been operating for nearly two decades as a self-help group for Hollywood actors and the wealthy before it was uncovered as a cult that physically and emotionally abused women.

Victims were referred to as “slaves” by NXIVM leader Keith Raniere, who operated the group until his arrest in 2018, when it was exposed.

While he was known as “The Vanguard” within NXIVM, Allison Mack was allegedly a “master” who encouraged women to join the group, which she described as an initiative of female self empowerment.

In interviews with survivors, it was revealed that women were asked to hand over compromising material so Raniere so he could blackmail them into belonging to the group, or sex cult.

As well sexual acts, victims of NXIVM were humiliated, insulated and branded with Raniere’s initials, it is alleged.

He was sentenced to 120 years in prison last year. Ms Mack, meanwhile, has cooperated with federal investigators and argues that she is reformed. She has also pleaded guilty ahead of sentencing.

Allison Mack was once known as Chloe Sullivan on Smallville.

She is believed to have become involved in NXIVM in 2006.

Mack can be seen in the HBO documentary The Vow meeting Keith Raniere for the first time at a volleyball game.

Read more about that meeting and the actor’s itinerary in the story below: