Allison Mack sentencing: Smallville star jailed for three years for NXIVM role as she slams Raniere
Mack’s sentencing and reactions as it happened
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Allison Mack, a TV actress well known for her role in the Superman spin-off series Smallville, has been sentenced to three years in prison for recruiting women for a spiritual cult, NXIVM.
Mack appeared on Wednesday in Brooklyn’s federal court, where she faced charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labour conspiracy, for which she pleaded guilty to in April 2019, following her arrest in 2018.
She sought credit for cooperating with the case against NXIVM’s leader Keith Raniere.
He was sentenced to 120 years in jail last year for sex-trafficking and for demeaning and abusing women who became “slaves” for him.
Ms Mack wrote in an apology to victims of NXIVM that it “was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life”.
“I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM,” wrote the former actress. “I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man.”
Former NXIVM member India Oxenberg reacts to Mack’s sentencing: “I’m still in a state of disbelief”
India Oxenberg, the daughter of former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg, who was recruited into NXIVM by Allison Mack, has given her reaction to her sentencing.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Oxenberg said: “I’m still in a state of disbelief, but I trust and honor the judge’s decision. I hope that her victims, including myself, feel vindicated and safer, given that she has denounced Keith Raniere. We all need time to process and digest everything. This is a big moment for all of us.”
Catherine Oxenberg says Mack: “Has shown remorse for her actions"
Catherine Oxenberg, the former Dynasty star whose tireless campaign to help her daughter India leave NXIVM was captured in the Starz docuseries Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, has said she supports Mack’s sentencing.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Oxenberg said: “I concur with everything India said. I do believe people deserve a second chance and Allison has shown remorse for her actions.”
Judge says Mack “willingly enslaved, destabilized, and manipulated other women"
US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who sentenced Mack, has issued a memo explaining his decision.
In it he describes Mack as “an essential accomplice” to NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. He adds: “You willingly enslaved, destabilized, and manipulated other women so that when they were at their most vulnerable, when they believed that they owed you total obedience and that anything less than that would cause them serious personal and financial harm, when you had taken from them their sense of agency to make their own choices, you gave them “special assignments” to satisfy Mr. Raniere’s sexual interests. Mr. Raniere could not have done that without you. You did that together.”
However, he went on to explain that her sentence was reduced due to her cooperation with the authorities: “The Government takes the position that while you could have been even more helpful if you had begun to cooperate sooner, you deserve a sentence below the Guidelines range in recognition of the assistance that you provided.”
NXIVM neighbour says Mack’s sentence is too lenient: "I thought she’d at least get seven years. I’m upset about it.”
A resident of Half Moon, New York who lived near the neighbourhood where NXIVM was located has told Fox News that they believe her three year sentence is too lenient.
“Disgusting. I can’t believe it,” the neighbour said. “I’m shocked. I thought she’d at least get seven years. I’m upset about it.”
The neighbour also claimed that Mack’s apparent remorse was insincere. “She’s an actress. She should get an Academy Award for this. She played this,” they said. “For four years this was going on under my nose in our neighbourhood. What a witch.”
Former NXIVM member Toni Natalie says Nancy Salzman “deserves a long prison sentence"
Former NXIVM member Toni Natalie, who wrote the tell-all book The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM, has said that while Mack may be able to be rehabilitated, it is NXIVM co-defendant Nancy Salzman who deserves a longer sentence.
In a statement to Fox News, Natalie said that it appeared Mack has received “a lot of family support” during the three years she spent under house arrest prior to today’s sentencing.
“With that in mind, the court must feel she can be rehabilitated, which is always the goal,” she continued. “I pray the Judge shows the same mercy to [co-defendant] Lauren Salzman. [Lauren Salzman’s] ‘family support’ most of her adult life was [co-defendant] Nancy Salzman, and Keith Raniere. Nancy deserves a long prison sentence just like her Vanguard and benefactor, Clare Bronfman. Hopefully that will be coming sooner than later.”
Why was Alison Mack’s sentence so lenient?
After some commenters on social media described Mack’s three-year sentence as “shockingly lenient”, The Independent’s Clémence Michallon explores exactly why the former actor was given less prison time than had previously been expected:
We like to think of victims and perpetrators as two wholly separate entities, but sometimes, that’s impossible. Mack’s history within NXIVM doesn’t fit squarely in a box. She’s both a victim and a perpetrator.
Allison Mack got a surprisingly short sentence for her NXIVM sex cult crimes. Here’s why | Clemence Michallon
What Mack did to other women inside the organization was abusive and cruel. At the very same time, she was being manipulated by a man who knew exactly how to get under her skin
Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay: “Allison Mack will serve more time than Bill Cosby. Fascinating."
Roxane Gay, the author of best-selling essay collection Bad Feminist, is among the many on social media who have compared Mack’s three-year sentence to today’s news that Bill Cosby has been released from prison after two years after his conviction for sexual assault was overturned.
In a follow-up tweet, she added: “Nothing about what she did is okay. She doesn’t deserve less punishment. He deserves more.”
Former NXIVM member India Oxenberg: “Today is bittersweet”
Former NXIVM member India Oxenberg, who earlier today said she was “still in a state of disbelief” over Allison Mack’s sentencing, has posted a further statement to her Instagram account.
In the post, Oxenberg, who was recruited into NXIVM by Mack, says: “we’ve seen justice being upheld however complicated and emotional it might be.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.