NEW YORK- “Smallville” actress Allison Mack on Monday pleaded guilty to blackmailing two women as part of an alleged New York scheme that prosecutors called a racketeering operation that carried out sex trafficking and other crimes.
Mack, 36, wept as she admitted her crimes and apologised to the women who prosecutors say were exploited by Keith Raniere and the purported self-help group called NXIVM.
“I believed Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people, and I was wrong,” Mack told a Brooklyn judge.
Mack, best known for playing the role of Clark Kent’s friend in superhero television series Smallville, was one of six defendants in a federal indictment filed against members of Nxivm, based near Albany in upstate New York.
The actress is to be sentenced September 11 on two racketeering accounts could face up to maximum 40 years in prison.
Court papers allege NXIVM formed a secret society of women, who had to provide compromising photos and other personal effects, which the organization threatened to make public if they tried to leave.
They also had their skin branded with Raniere’s initials as other members held them still and filmed.
Mr Raniere, 58, is currently being held without bail after being arrested on sex trafficking charges in March 2018.
Another of the high-profile defendants in the case is Clare Bronfman, heiress to the Canadian Seagram liquor empire. She and a sister are believed to have given more than $100 million to the group.
“Smallville,” a television series that ran from 2001 to 2011, featured a young Clark Kent before he became famous as Superman. Mack played Chloe Sullivan, a close friend of the future Superman whose romantic feelings were not reciprocated.
Have more to add to the story? Comment below and stay tuned for more updates!
