Former Smallville actress Allison Mack was arrested Friday in Brooklyn for her alleged role in an abusive sex cult where investigators said women were branded, assaulted and blackmailed if they tried to leave.
Called DOS (short for "masters over the slave women" in Latin), the cult formed within a secret sect of controversial self-help group NXIVM (pronounced "Nexium"). It was allegedly helmed by charismatic leader Keith Raniere, a 57-year-old who was arrested in March on charges of sex trafficking and forced labor. According to former members of the cult, Mack operated as his right-hand woman and served as the leader after his arrest.
Although she is accused of abusing members below her in cult ranking, Mack also operated as Raniere's personal slave, according to the criminal complaint. She would allegedly groom women for sex with Raniere, while also branding them with his initials in the pubic region, federal prosecutors said in an indictment unsealed on Friday.
"As alleged in the indictment, Allison Mack recruited women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere," United States Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement. "The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants' benefit."
On her website, Mack credits Raniere with jumpstarting her life after Smallville ended in 2011. The actress appeared opposite Elijah Wood in the series Wilfred from 2012 to 2014, and alongside Kevin Bacon in The Following, a show that, coincidentally, centered on a fictional cult. The 35-year-old also appeared in promotional videos for NXIVM.
Mack, who normally posts frequently on Instagram, has been silent on her social media channels since Raniere's arrest. There was speculation that she was under investigation for ties to the cult after the original criminal complaint against Raniere, listed a "co-conspirator number 1" described an actress who starred in promotional videos with the leader.
"CC-1 is an actress and is currently understood to be one of the women with whom Raniere maintained a sexual relationship prior to the development of DOS," the documents stated. "Statements on NXIVM-related websites, including video interviews of Raniere and CC-1, refer to RANIERE's mentorship of CC-1, and to RANIERE's and CC-1 's co-development of 'The Source,' a NXIVM-affiliated entity focused on improving actors' performance skills."
That description fits the biography page on Mack's own website. No further details were immediately available.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
