SEX CULT TRIAL: Svengali Keith Raniere guilty on all counts
![Sex cult Svengali Keith Raniere was found guilty on all charges Wednesday in New York.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/torontosun/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cult1-e1560971631570.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=CQ8KpcYIGC7KpNeCQ9jZWg)
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The founder of a bizarre sex cult that attracted C-list starlets and heiresses alike has been found guilty of a slew of sex trafficking charges.
Keith Raniere was convicted on all counts for turning the self-help cult into a virtual harem where the women were branded and forced to have sex with him.
The jury in Brooklyn federal court took just five hours to reach their verdict Wednesday afternoon.
Raniere mumbled when he heard the verdict and left the court in handcuffs without thanking his lawyer.
“Over the last seven weeks, 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 involving sex trafficking, child pornography, extortion-compelled abortions, branding, degradation and humiliation,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue told reporters outside the courthouse.
“The evidence proved that Raniere was truly a modern-day Svengali.”
The convictions could see the 58-year-old self-help guru sentenced to life in prison.
During the seven-week trial, numerous former slaves came forward with lurid details about life inside the Upstate New York cult.
![Seagrams heiress Clare Bronfman and two of her co-defendants in the sex-trafficking prosecution, including NXIVM founder Keith Raniere (top R) and Allison Mack (bottom R). (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer/Keithraniere.com/AP Photo/Seth Wenig)](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/torontosun/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/nxivmfunding.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&sig=7EYdrG_DBqDl8Y6xVN1v1g)
Court heard how Raniere starved them, expected them to have sex with him at any hour of the day and brainwashed the women into believing his twisted teachings.
The sex cult was a secret sorority called DOS that operated within his broader NXIVM self-help business.
Among those sucked in were former Smallville star Allison Mack, who may have been one of the most powerful people in the organization, the daughter of Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg and the billionaire Bronfman sisters.
DOS became like a Ponzi scheme for sex as each slave was ordered to procure more slaves — particularly virgins.
![Keith Raniere fashioned himself into a new age guru. Cops say he is a sex trafficker.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/torontosun/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cult8-e1528486868342.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&sig=0152uDx5r4Fb-k7Qfd1-oQ)
Court heard tales of threesomes, branding (with Raniere’s initials), underage sex and child pornography.
He was also accused of having sex with a 15-year-old Mexican girl named Camila. Raniere tried to recruit the underage victim’s sisters for a threesome, court heard.
Other members of NXIVM were charged alongside Raniere and have all pleaded guilty.
![Team slave. Sex cult insiders Lauren Salzman and Allison Mack had a slew of threesomes with Svengali Keith Raniere.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/torontosun/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cult2-e1558465872635.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&sig=oAUEvh-BNVaBVUrPJLS4Rg)
They include the organization’s president Nancy Salzman, her daughter Lauren Salzman, Mack and Seagram liquor heiress Claire Bronfman.
Bronfman bankrolled the group for years and was one of its most ardent followers.
The defence did not call any witnesses. Raniere will be sentenced Sept. 25.
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