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Witnesses in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn have testified that
the leader, Keith Raniere, presented himself as "some kind of
god" and that female members of the group, Nxivm, a purported
self-help organization, appeared broken.
Lauren Salzman, whose mother, Nancy Salzman, was president of
the group, and admitted to recruiting members into the upstate
New York group, is expected to detail her role. Both Salzmans
have pleaded guilty to taking part in the scheme.
If convicted of federal charges including sex trafficking and
child pornography, Raniere faces life in prison. His lawyer has
argued at trial that the women became members of Nxivm
voluntarily and were never coerced into doing anything against
their will.
Former "Smallville" actress Allison Mack and Seagram liquor
heiress Clare Bronfman, also pleaded guilty before trial.
Jurors have heard from one woman who said she submitted
unwillingly to Raniere's sexual demands.
A 12-year Nxivm veteran, Mark Vicente, testified for several
days this week about the inner workings of the group, explaining
how Raniere's recruits came to view him as "some kind of god,"
after a sales pitch describing him as a genius of unparalleled
insight.
Vicente told jurors he became concerned that Mack and other
young women in the group had become too thin after following a
severely restrictive diet at Raniere's request.
When Vicente told Raniere that Mack seemed "broken," Raniere
responded, "I'm trying to break her," Vicente testified.
Nxivm, which started under another name in 1998 and is
pronounced "Nexium," was based in Albany, New York, and operated
self-improvement centers across North and Central America.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Jeffrey
Benkoe)
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