SHAMELESS
NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere says he has NO REMORSE for sex slave victims before he’s jailed for 120 years
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NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere told a judge he has "no remorse" for forcing women into sexual slavery before being sentenced to life in prison in New York City.
The disgraced guru, whose followers included millionaires and actors, starved and branded some of his victims "like cattle" with his initials.
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not only branded his accusers with his initials - he also labeled them "liars" in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday before he was sentenced to 120 years behind bars and fined $1.75 million.
He denied the prosecution's claims that he used victims for “for power, for profit, [and] for sex” after several victims detailed how he sexually, physically and mentally abused them to the court.
"They’re lying for a reason and that reasons stems from me," he said, as reported by the , implying he'd done something to cause his former followers to lie about him.
In his non-apology, Raniere said he was "deeply sorry" for the pain he'd caused - but also proclaimed his innocence of the charges, which include sex-trafficking and child pornography.
“I do feel deep remorse but I do not feel remorse for the crimes I didn’t commit,” he said.
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The cult leader even stared directly at his accusers as they sat in the gallery and sickeningly praised them for speaking in court despite him branding them as liars moments before.
“It’s still painful to get up there and speak and it takes courage,” he told the women.
While looking at the judge, Raniere added: “The hurt is true. The anger is true.”
Court officials were trying to determine whether or not to open a second courtroom at Brooklyn Criminal Court for the massive gathering of media members and victims who showed up for Raniere's hearing.
Federal prosecutors wanted the 60-year-old to remain behind bars for life as punishment for the "immeasurable damages" to victims he exploited as head of NXIVM - a sex cult masquerading as self-help group.
Raniere created a secret sorority within the cult called DOS, which involved female "slaves" turning over nude photos and other compromising materials to blackmail them if they tried to leave, lawyers said.
He was also accused by prosecutors of having a sexual relationship with a girl starting when she was 15, and who later became part of his inner circle of DOS slaves.
"While he hid our sexual relationship from others, he explained it to me by telling me that I was very mature for my age," her victim impact statement read. "And I know now that it was false – I was a child.
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"He used my innocence to do whatever he wanted with me – not just sexually but also psychologically."
Prosecutors said he kept nude photos of the girl, which are the basis of the child pornography charge.
The girl's older sister, known only as "Daniela," was also deeply involved in NXIVM and testified at length against Raniere during the highly-publicized trial.
Their dad "Hector" was among more than 50 people who wrote letters to US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, urging leniency for Raniere, a man he described as “honest,” “brilliant” and “cheerful.”
Prosecutors said he had kept another teen confined to a room for two years.
India Oxenberg, the 29-year-old daughter of TV actress Catherine Oxenberg, described her experience on the stand of "waiting naked like a piece of meat, a branded, brainwashed sex slave" for Raniere.
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Oxenberg wept as she recalled the abuse she suffered during her seven years with NXIVM, which cost her $100,000 on its personal development “curriculum."
“I may have to live the rest of my life with Keith Raniere’s initials,’’ she told the judge, before addressing the cult leader directly.
“You tried to destroy my family by turning me against my own mother, telling me she was a psychopath."
Princess Elizabeth of 's granddaughter told Raniere he "raped" her and described herself as his “human science experiment" because he starved Oxenberg to look younger and deprived her of sleep.
She recalled having “dozens of sexual encounters with a man I wasn’t attracted to’’ because Raniere blackmailed her.
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After again claiming he was innocent today and indicating that the victims were lying, Raniere said he was "deeply remorseful," according to a court reporter.
Ahead of his sentencing, 's lawyers said that he still protested his "complete innocence," in a court filing last month.
His attorneys said they viewed his conviction as the result of a "media campaign involving witnesses who were motivated to testify falsely" at "an unfair trial."
Lawyers for Raniere had asked Garaufis, who imposed the sentence, for no more than 15 years in prison.
“No one was shot, stabbed, punched, kicked, slapped or even yelled at,” they wrote.
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“Despite the sex offenses, there is no evidence that any woman ever told Keith Raniere that she did not want to kiss him, touch him, hold his hand or have sex with him.”
Raniere was of two counts of sex trafficking, racketeering and forced labor conspiracy in 2019.
He was arrested in March of 2018 by Mexican officials in , where he fled when the group’s sordid activities were exposed.
Many claimed their lives had been greatly improved by NXIVM classes, which could cost thousands of dollars.
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Raniere’s lawyers insisted that no one in DOS or NXIVM was ever coerced before his sentencing today.
Several other people affiliated with NXIVM have pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
These include Seagram liquor heiress Clare Bronfman, actress Allison Mack, former NXIVM president Nancy Salzman and her daughter Lauren Salzman, who testified as the prosecution’s star witness.
During his sentencing today, Raniere urged the court not to blame his codefendants Bronfnan, Mack, and the Salzmans, calling them “good souls.”
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Bronfman, who was accused of helping bankroll NXIVM, was sentenced last month to more than six years in prison.
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Acting US Attorney for Eastern District of Seth DuCharme said Raniere "will not be able to victimize people anymore after today's sentence and we're very grateful for that."
"It struck me in listening to the victims that Raniere really twisted people's trust and their need to find some meaning and hope in their lives in just the most insidious and devious ways," DuCharme added.
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Nxivm 'sex cult' leader Keith Raniere makes last ditch plea for help from prison to 'nemesis' who brought him to justice
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