CrimeSociety and CultureCrime and JusticeUnited States Attorney

NXIVM Guru Keith Raniere Sexually Abused 15-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutor

A federal prosecutor told jurors Raniere groomed women for sex, threatening to expose their “deepest, darkest secrets” if they didn’t comply with his wishes.
AP

NEW YORK (AP) — A self-help guru groomed women for sex, subjecting them to “shame and humiliation” and threatening to expose their “deepest, darkest secrets” if they didn’t comply with his wishes, a federal prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar presented opening statements at the sex-trafficking trial of Keith Raniere, the former leader of an upstate New York group called NXIVM (pronounced NEHK’-see-uhm) that’s been likened to a cult.

The prosecutor alleged that Raniere had sex with a 15-year-old girl and took nude photos of her; she also described how some female followers were branded with Raniere’s initials.

Authorities have said the branding was done using a cautery pen without anesthesia by a doctor who is now under investigation by state health officials. Eight “Jane Does” in that case have refused to answer questions, saying through their lawyers “the branding was a voluntary free expression of personal beliefs.”

But Raniere’s trial is expected to feature testimony from women who claim they were forced to have sex with Raniere. Five of Raniere’s co-defendants, including TV actress Allison Mack , have pleaded guilty

Raniere denies criminal wrongdoing; his lawyers say his relationships were consensual.

In court papers, defense lawyers have said the alleged victims were never abused. The women were instead described as “independent, smart, curious adults” in search of “happiness, fulfillment and meaning.”

But legions of NXIVM defectors and detractors have called the self-help rhetoric a brainwashing device that has destroyed lives.

Promotional material for the now-disbanded NXIVM once hailed Raniere as a “scientist, mathematician, philosopher, entrepreneur, educator, inventor and author” who has “devoted his life to developing new tools for human empowerment, expression and ethics.”

“The defendant pretended to be a guru,” Hajjar said, “but he was a criminal.”

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Before You Go

The Faces Of Sex Trafficking
Thailand(01 of22)
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On Aug. 18, 2009, a bar girl waits for customers outside a bar in Sungai Kolok in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat. The sun hasn't set, but already the music is pumping and the disco ball is rolling in the Sumtime Bar, where Malaysian men are enjoying the drinks and women available on this side of the Thai border. (Photo credit: Madaree Tohlala/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Bangladesh(02 of22)
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A Bangladeshi sex worker takes an Oradexon tablet in a government-registered brothel in Faridpur, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) outside Dhaka on June 20, 2010. Whenever Bangladeshi brothel owner Rokeya, 50, signs up a new sex worker, she gives her a course of steroid drugs often used to fatten cattle. For older sex workers, tablets work well, said Rokeya, but for younger girls of 12 to 14 -- who are normally sold to the brothel by their families -- injections are more effective. (Photo credit: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
China (03 of22)
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Chinese police watch over a group of massage girls suspected of prostitution during a June 21, 2011, raid in Beijing, part of a vice crackdown ahead of celebrations for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party 90 years ago. Rapid social and economic changes have made China "prone to corruption." and the ruling Communist Party faces a major challenge stamping out deep-rooted official graft, an official said on June 22. (Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
New York City(04 of22)
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New York City Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito places a child's shoes onto a stack children's shoes, used as a symbol for child sex trafficking, during a protest rally outside the Village Voice on Thursday, March 29, 2012 in New York. A coalition of religious and civic leaders demanded that the Village Voice stop running their adult classified section. The protesters say the section is being used by sex traffickers peddling underage prostitutes. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (credit:AP)
New Mexico(05 of22)
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This undated photo provided by New Mexico Attorney General Gary King (credit:AP)
England (06 of22)
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A newspaper advertising board outside a corner shop in the Lancashire town of Rochdale, England, after nine men were arrested for child sexual exploitation on Jan. 11, 2011. Greater Manchester Police arrested nine men as part of an investigation into sexual exploitation and questioned them on suspicion of rape, inciting child prostitution, allowing premises to be used for prostitution and sexual activity with a child. (Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Guatemala City (07 of22)
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Firefighters help rescue a prostitute after she became trapped in a tunnel from an offensive against human trafficking at the Super Frontera bar late on April 21, 2012, in Guatemala City. (Photo credit: Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
United Kingdom(08 of22)
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Undated handout composite image issued Tuesday May 8, 2012, by Greater Manchester Police showing eight of the nine men who have been convicted for luring girls as young as 13-years old into sexual encounters using alcohol and drugs, top row left to right, Abdul Rauf, Hamid Safi, Mohammed Sajid and Abdul Aziz, and with Bottom row left to right, Abdul Qayyum, Adil Khan, Mohammed Amin and Kabeer Hassan. The nine men aged between 22 and 59 are convicted of charges including rape, assault, sex trafficking and conspiracy and will be sentenced Wednesday May 9, 2012 at court in Liverpool, England. The ninth man in the group, a 59-year-old man cannot be named for legal reasons. (AP Photo / Greater Manchester Police) (credit:AP)
Paris (09 of22)
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A man demonstrates with prostitutes and members of the Union of Sex Workers on June 2, 2012, at Paris' Pigalle square, asserting their rights to work with dignity and respect. (Photo credit: Bertrand Langlois/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nicaragua (10 of22)
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Wendy, a Nicaraguan sex worker and member of NGO Girasoles Nicaragua (Nicaragua Sunflowers), waits for clients on a street in Managua on April 18, 2012. (Photo credit: Elmer Martinez/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Virginia(11 of22)
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In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 photo, Holly Smith, 33, looks out form her porch after talking about her experiences when she was caught up in a child sex trafficking ring during an interview in her home in Richmond, Va. A new report says 41 states have failed to adopt strong penalties against human trafficking, and advocates say a patchwork of differing state laws makes it difficult for authorities to target the crime. Smith said a man at a mall promised her a job after she ran away from home at age 14. She said she was swiftly brought to a motel where two adults gave her a dress, put makeup on her face and dyed her hair. (credit:AP)
California(12 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, California is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Flickr: JoeInSouthernCA)
Connecticut(13 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Connecticut is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
Florida(14 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Florida is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit: Flickr: Phillip Pessar)
Georgia(15 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Georgia is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit: Flickr: seanmorgan)
Illinois(16 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Illinois is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
Minnesota(17 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Minnesota is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Flickr: Gaffke Photography v2.8)
Missouri(18 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Missouri is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
New York(19 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, New York is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
Texas(20 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Texas is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
Vermont(21 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Vermont is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
Washington(22 of22)
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The Polaris Project, a nonprofit combatting human trafficking in the United States, has ranked the 10 most important state statutes that should be enforced to prevent or end human trafficking. Having implemented 7-9 of the 10 statutes, Washington is one of the states that does the most to stop trafficking. (credit:Getty)
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