Serguei Bachlakov / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
After many suspicions about the “cult-like” group actress Allison Mack is involved in, the former Smallville star was arrested on Friday, April 20 and charged with sex trafficking and other crimes as part of her connection with the “self-help” group Nxivm.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, the 35-year-old was charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. If convicted on all charges, Mack is facing a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The allegations against the former actress, who is best known for her role as Chloe Sullivan on the longrunning Superman series Smallville, are connected to Nxivm and its co-founder Keith Ramiere who was accused recently of sex trafficking and forced labor. Mack was accused of being the one who recruited women to the group which operates under the disguise of being a female mentorship group to “address their weakness,” however Rainere reportedly used the group to take advantage of women sexually.
“The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit,” Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in the statement. The statement also said that Mack was “one of the women in the first level of the pyramid immediately below Raniere.” “In exchange, for this, Mack received financial and other benefits from Raniere,” the statement continues.