CNN
June 19, 2019
What we're covering here
JUST IN: Keith Raniere, the founder of the "Nxivm" self-help company that prosecutors said secretly housed a sex cult, was found guilty on all charges.
The charges: Raniere had pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and attempted sex trafficking.
What happens next: Raniere will be sentenced on Sept. 25. He could face life in prison.
US attorney: "Keith Raniere's crime spree has ended"
Richard Donoghue, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, thanked the judge and jury for "carefully considering evidence" in the trial of Keith Raniere.
"Keith Raniere's crime spree has ended and his victims will finally see justice," he told reporters outside the courthouse after the verdict.
He also thanked the rest of the investigation and prosecution team as well as New York state police and the FBI.
"His crimes and the crimes of his co-conspirators, ruined marriages, careers, fortunes, and lives," Donoghue said.
He described Raniere as a massive manipulator and con man.
“This trial has revealed that Raniere, who portrayed himself as a savant and a genius, was in fact a massive manipulator, a con man, and the crime boss of a cult-like organization involved in sex trafficking, child pornography, extortion, compelled abortions, branding, degradation and humiliation," Donoghue said.
Raniere's sentencing is set for September
From CNN’s Sonia Moghe
Keith Raniere's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 25.
Raniere, the founder of a group called Nxivm, was found guilty on all counts. As the first guilty count for racketeering was read, a few former Nxivm members in the gallery gasped.
Catherine Oxenberg, the mother of one DOS slave who has spoken publicly about how she fought to break her daughter out of the group, buried her head in her hands and sobbed.
Outside the courtroom, she told CNN, "It gives me so much faith," adding that she was grateful.
"Justice is served," Oxenberg said.
US Attorney Richard P. Donoghue, who was in court today, told CNN he was pleased with the verdict.
Raniere was emotionless as the verdict was read.
Here's a breakdown of the verdict in the Keith Raniere case
The 12-person jury found Keith Raniere, the founder of the "Nxivm" self-help company, guilty on all charges after deliberating for less than five hours today.
Here's a breakdown of the verdict:
- Racketeering: Guilty
- Racketeering Conspiracy: Guilty
- Wire Fraud conspiracy: Guilty
- Forced Labor conspiracy: Guilty
- Sex trafficking: Guilty
- Sex trafficking conspiracy: Guilty
- Attempted sex trafficking: Guilty
JUST IN: Keith Raniere found guilty on all charges
From CNN's Sonia Moghe
Keith Raniere, 58, founder of the purported self-help company Nxivm, was found guilty of racketeering, sex trafficking and other crimes.
During six weeks of testimony, group members told the jury they were pressured to have sex with him, and were ceremonially branded near their bikini lines — only to realize later that their skin was marked with Raniere's initials. Witnesses maintain they were blackmailed into silence after being asked to turn damaging personal information over to their “masters.”
"The defendant tapped into a never-ending flow of women and money," prosecutor Moira Penza told jurors in closing arguments on Monday. "(He was) a crime boss with no limits and no checks on his power."
Raniere had pleaded not guilty to charges including racketeering, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child and human trafficking. He did not testify in the case and his defense attorney did not call any witnesses, but his attorney has argued that his relationships with Nxivm followers were consensual.
“You may find him repulsive, disgusting and offensive. We don’t convict people in this country for being repulsive or offensive,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said. “Unpopular ideas aren’t criminal. Disgusting ideas aren’t criminal.”
Former Nxivm members testified slaves were branded
After being accepted into a secret sex society called DOS, or "The Vow," members would be branded near their bikini line with leader Keith Raniere's initials, prosecutors and victims said.
During the trial, prosecutors presented a series of recordings of conversations between "Smallville" star Allison Mack and Raniere in which they discuss a ceremony for the branding. Mack, a co-defendant in the case, pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering charges before the start of the trial.
Another former member Lauren Salzman testified that at the time her slaves were branded, she thought that the women could have opted out of the ceremony. But today, she feels differently and doesn't believe it was right to brand Raniere's initials on women without them realizing it.
The first to be branded writhed in pain, she said.
"She was squealing and screaming, and it looked horrendous," Salzman said. "It scared the other girls."
Salzman, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy in March.
Jurors deliberated for less than five hours
From CNN's Sonia Moghe and Eric Levenson
Jurors began deliberating this morning in the trial of Keith Raniere, the founder of the "Nxivm" self-help company that prosecutors say housed a secret sex cult made up of "slaves" and "masters."
Jury deliberations began at 9:25 a.m. ET. The jury reached a verdict at around 2 p.m. ET.
The trial lasted seven weeks in Brooklyn federal court. Raniere is facing multiple charges and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nxivm-keith-raniere-verdict/index.html
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