Nxivm leader Keith Raniere was slammed with 120 years behind bars Tuesday for running a twisted sex-slave cult where women were\u00a0branded like cattle\u00a0and forced to sleep with him.<\/p>\n
The arrogant 60-year-old sicko \u2014 who billed himself as a Ghandi for the wayward, only to be unmasked as a perverted master manipulator \u2014\u00a0remained defiant till the end, insisting to the judge that his slew of accusers were lying.<\/p>\n
But Brooklyn federal court Judge Nicholas Garaufis scoffed at the notion \u2014\u00a0calling the Svengali\u2019s crimes\u00a0\u201ccruel, perverse and extremely serious\u2019\u2019 as he ensured the con would remain in prison for life.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo him, the brave victims \u2026 are liars,\u201d Garaufis said in bringing down the gavel on the sex-trafficker, including ordering him to pay a $1.75 million fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Raniere remains unmoved. \u2026 [He] has therefore failed to demonstrate remorse.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Raniere, wearing navy prison scrubs over an orange shirt, stood stoically as he was hit with the life sentence \u2014 which was handed down after 15 people, mostly female victims, told the judge about the horrific abuse they suffered at the cult leader\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
Raniere had faced as few as 15 years\u00a0on seven felony convictions\u00a0involving everything from sex-trafficking to racketeering, child pornography and forced labor amid a yearslong saga of sexual, physical and mental abuse involving scores of young women.<\/p>\n
The shaggy-haired supposed self-help guru ran the Albany-based group Nxivm, draining members of dough amid promises of promoting individual growth \u2014 all while grooming the women for his sexual pleasure, the feds said.<\/p>\n
His reach proved far and wide \u2014 from disadvantaged towns in Mexico to Hollywood, luring actresses such as Allison Mack and Nicki Clyne, as well as\u00a0Seagram\u2019s booze heiress Clare Bronfman\u00a0and India Oxenberg, the daughter of TV\u2019s Catherine Oxenberg, into Nxivm\u2019s ranks.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0formed a secret master-slave group\u00a0within Nxivm to carry out his illicit deeds. It was called DOS, or \u201cDominant Over Submissive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Those who spoke against Raniere at the hearing\u00a0included his first sex slave\u00a0and a former DOS \u201cmaste\u201d identified only as Camila, who\u00a0finally broke her silence\u00a0to tell the judge that the cult leader took her virginity at age 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is difficult for me to utter his name so I will only refer to him as \u2018he,\u2019 \u201d said Camila, recounting how she met Raniere in her native Mexico at age 13.<\/p>\n
She and her two older sisters were all allegedly impregnated by Raniere, then forced to get abortions.<\/p>\n
Camila was branded on her body with Raniere\u2019s initials, as were many\u00a0 other members, who described being burned with a cauterizing pen to make the mark above their genitals.<\/p>\n
India Oxenberg, 29,\u00a0wept as she told the judge\u00a0Raniere starved her to make her look like a 12-year-old \u2014 and raped her.<\/p>\n
She said that before he forced her to have sex with him, he would sometimes rub his hand over her branding.<\/p>\n
It took a jury fewer than five hours to convict Raniere of all the counts against him at trial last year \u2014 but Judge Garaufis said the verdict would have come even quicker had Camila taken the witness stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad she testified, it would have taken a jury 10 minutes to convict him,\u201d the jurist said. \u201cShe was groomed from the age of 13 to 15, then was seduced by Mr. Raniere for his sexual pleasure. That\u2019s a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Raniere\u2019s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, tried to argue that his client\u2019s intent was not to hurt anyone, the judge shot back, \u201cExcuse me, pardon me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what do you think intent is when you\u2019re a 13-year-old girl and a 43-year-old man?\u201d the jurist said, referring to Camila and Raniere\u2019s ages when they met.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to tolerate what his intent was when he seduced a 15-year-old girl,\u201d Garaufis said of Raniere. \u201cIt\u2019s an insult.<\/p>\n
Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cThe branding of Camila was cruel to the part of inhumane. The harm he inflicted on her was incalculable.\u201d<\/p>\n Agnifilo tried again to defend his client, saying, \u201cHe was in love with some of these women. \u2026 He doesn\u2019t know how to let go.\u201d<\/p>\n But the judge just shut him down again \u2014 as Raniere\u2019s victims made faces at each other in disbelief at the lawyer\u2019s assertion.<\/p>\n Still, Raniere continues to have supporters.<\/p>\n Clyne, Mack\u2019s wife who appeared on TV\u2019s \u201cBattlestar Galactica,\u201d was among about 20 of Raniere\u2019s pals who showed up in court Tuesday. The group also included Marc Elliot, who claimed he overcame Tourette syndrome thanks to Nxivm.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Keith is a good man who has helped the lives of thousands and thousands of people, and currently there is only one narrative in the media because another side has been completely silenced until only a couple of days ago,\u201d Elliot said.<\/p>\n Bronfman and Mack have\u00a0already pleaded guilty\u00a0to roles in the case, with the heiress\u00a0landing nearly seven years\u00a0behind bars earlier this month.<\/p>\n Garaufis also sentenced Bronfman \u2014 slamming her with even well over a year more than prosecutors had sought.<\/p>\n Mack is still awaiting sentencing.<\/p>\n Raniere made a plea to the judge Tuesday to go easy on her.<\/p>\n \u201cAllison should spend no time in prison,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n Nxivm leader Keith Raniere was slammed with 120 years behind bars Tuesday for running a twisted sex-slave cult where women were\u00a0branded like cattle\u00a0and forced to sleep with him. The arrogant 60-year-old sicko \u2014 who billed himself as a Ghandi for the wayward, only to be unmasked as a perverted master manipulator \u2014\u00a0remained defiant till the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\r\n \t