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'Smallville' Star Allison Mack Released On Bond In NXIVM Sex Trafficking Case

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Former "Smallville" actor Allison Mack was released on bond Tuesday after being charged in New York with sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy charges related to the secretive NXIVM group.

She was met by a massive throng of reporters and photographers, some of whom lost their footing and tumbled over one another while trying to snap photos of her as she left the courthouse.

Mack was picked up by federal authorities at her Brooklyn apartment last week. Prosecutors say she helped recruit sex slaves for leader Keith Raniere and his cult-like organization NXIVM, pronounced "Nexium." 

The former celebrity face of the self-improvement group was released to stay with her parents in California. Her defense lawyers Sean Buckley and William McGovern of the law firm Kobre & Kim previously had entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf in a Brooklyn courtroom.

Raniere, 57, was the leader of a secretive group accused of coercing female followers into having sex and getting branded with his initials.

WEB EXTRA: Read The Indictment (.pdf)

A core group of disciples was drawn to Raniere, including actresses, wealthy heiresses and a son of a former president of Mexico. His followers were known as "Nxians," and were "encouraged to pay for additional [NXIVM] classes and to recruit others to take classes in order to rise within the ranks of NXIVM," prosecutors said.

Allison Mack In Court
A courtroom sketch shows Allison Mack appearing before a judge on sex trafficking charges related to the NXIVM organization. (credit: CBS2)

Proscutors said NXIVM "maintains features of a pyramid scheme." They allege Raniere created a secret society within NXIVM called "DOS," in which "masters" held "slaves." All members of the DOS group except for Raniere, who was at the top of the Master/Slave group, prosectors said.

"Many DOS slaves were branded on their pelvic areas using a cauterizing pen with a symbol which, unbeknownst to them, incorporated Raniere's initials," prosecutors said. "During the branding ceremonies, slaves were required to be fully naked, and a master would order one slave to film the branded while the others restrained the slave being branded."

Mack allegedly "required her slaves... to engage in sexual activity with Raniere."

Raniere and Mack each face a minimum of 15 years in prison and could get life if convicted.

In March, federal authorities raided an upstate New York residence near Albany where NXIVM was headquartered. The organization also ran programs in Mexico.

Raniere's followers included Clare and Sara Bronfman, heiresses to the Seagram liquor fortune, and Emiliano Salinas Occelli, son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who with a business partner controlled the Raniere-linked Executive Success Programs in Mexico.

Catherine Oxenberg, who once starred on "Dynasty," became connected to the group when she attended a meeting with her daughter several years ago. She has said she was turned off by it but her daughter remained a devotee.

Founded in 1998, NXIVM promoted Raniere's teachings as a kind of mystical, executive coaching designed to help people get the most out of life. Enrollees in its Executive Success Programs paid handsomely for his advice, but the organization also drew criticism from people who likened it to a cult.

Last year, the accusations took a new twist, with women who were part of the DOS subgroup coming forward to say that they had been physically branded near their pelvises with a surgical tool against their will.

"This is just the beginning of what needs to happen to stop the reign of terror that Keith Raniere and NXIVM has," said Raniere's ex-girlfriend Toni Natalie.

Raniere's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, previously said his client is innocent.

"The facts will show that Raniere didn't compel or pressure anyone to do anything and that everyone was acting in accordance with his or her free will at every instant," he said.

Mack was released on $5 million bond and ordered to stay off the internet and away from anyone associated with NXIVM. Her next court date is May 3.

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