Smallvilleactress Allison Mackhas pleaded guilty to charges related to her involvement with acontroversial self-help groupdescribed as having a secret society of “masters” and sexually subservient “slaves” within it, PEOPLE confirms. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York tells PEOPLE that Mack was scheduled to appear in court at 11:30 a.m. to plead guilty. The spokesman says she is pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering.
Prosecutors have accused her of recruiting sex slaves forKeith Raniere, who co-founded the controversial self-help groupNxivmand its subgroup, DOS, described as an all-female secret society in which women allegedly were forced to be sexually subservient to Raniere.
On Monday, Mack, 36, appeared in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, where jury selection in her trial was set to begin.
Best known for her years-long role as a young Superman’s friend, Chloe Sullivan, on The WB’sSmallville, Mack was charged last springwith sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy.
One of the group’s most prominent members, Mack faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
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The actress was among six people accused of sex trafficking, forced labor, racketeering, wire fraud and other charges for their roles in Nxivm, which operated out of Albany but suspended operations last spring.
“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, alleged in a statement issued at the time of Mack’s arrest, referring to both Mack and Raniere.
“Slaves” in the alleged operation described Mack as “incredibly intimidating, cruel and punitive,” a source close to two former DOS members toldThe HollywoodReporterin acover storypublished last May.
On March 18, 2019,Nxivm’sRaniere entered a not guilty plea to newly filed child pornography charges related to the case, according to theAlbanyTimes Union,CBS Newsand theAssociated Press.
source: people.com
