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He has sexually exploited his followers for years – now self-help guru Keith Raniere has been sentenced to 120 years in prison in New York. Four of Ranier’s aides are still awaiting their sentence.
Keith Raniere has officially marketed his Nxivm organization as a self-help group since the 1990s, but unofficially, women have been sexually abused there. As such, 60-year-old Raniere will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
A Brooklyn, New York court sentenced him to 120 years. In addition, Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered a $ 1.75 million (approximately € 1.5 million) fine.
The prosecution had already asked for a life sentence for Raniere, the defense at 15. In June 2019, Raniere was convicted of sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and fraud, among other things.
“Regime of control over women”
The 120-year prison sentence shows the “scale of the horrific crimes,” said prosecutor Seth DuCharme.
“Raniere’s regime of control over women he has hurt physically and emotionally is like a horror story,” said New York FBI deputy chief William Sweeney.
“The sexual exploitation, abuse, loneliness and mind control that the victims suffered under his leadership are unimaginable. Today the judge gave him 120 years to ponder whether torture is more than him.” exercised on people for a decade, and the despair it brought to their families in the end was worth it.
Hours of testimony of the victims
At the hearing, 15 victims had testified, including India Oxenberg, the daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg. “You are a sex offender and you raped me,” he told Raniere in court, according to US media. Another woman reported how Raniere raped her as a minor.
During the trial, Raniere had shown no remorse, but instead repeatedly asked for a retrial. At the sentencing ceremony, he continued to plead his innocence and accused some of the women of lying, but he also said he was very sorry for causing so much pain and anger. Numerous supporters of Raniere had gathered before the court.
Raniere founded the Nxivm organization in the late 1990s, based near Albany in the US state of New York. According to media reports, around 18,000 people have attended the organization’s expensive “self-optimization courses”.
Even lawsuits against supporters
In early October, millionaire heiress Clare Bronfman was sentenced to 81 months in prison as an assistant. He is said to have backed Nxvim with his assets from the former alcohol company Seagram and his social status and intimidated opponents.
Four other Raniere aides have pleaded guilty and are currently awaiting their respective sentences – including German-born actress Allison Mack, who became famous with, among other things, the TV series “Smallville”.
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