Sources told Frank Report that at a special meeting during the recent NXIVM/ESP Coaches Summit, NXIVM officials analyzed the 20-20 news show about Keith Raniere, which aired on December 16, 2017. Their analysis concluded that Mark Vicente and Sarah Edmondson lied throughout the televised program.
Coaches were told that Sarah lied about not wanting to be branded on her groin. NXIVM officials, led by Lauren Salzman, Vice President of NXIVM in charge of education, and Allison Mack, head of humanities for NXIVM, said Sarah desired the hot iron brand and signed a contract so indicating.
NXIVM did not show the contract to coaches.
Ms. Edmondson told the New York Times, 20-20 and other media outlets that she did not consent to be hot-iron branded on her groin and that she had been told it was to be a small tattoo. She also alleged that even after she had been branded, she did not know the brand was the initials of Keith Raniere and Allison Mack because she was told it was an esoteric symbol representing the elements of nature.
Sarah Edmondson
NXIVM officials shared with members their reasoning for concluding that Ms. Edmondson and Mr. Vicente lied repeatedly on 20-20. Both Ms. Edmondson and Mr. Vicente were Green-ranked NXIVM officials, operated the Vancouver and Los Angeles Centers respectively, and left NXIVM this spring, leading more than 100 others to question NXIVM’s policies and practices and, ultimately, leave NXIVM.
Both the Vancouver and Los Angeles Centers abruptly closed. Since then, NXIVM officials have endeavored to reopen the Centers in both cities, thus far without success.
NXIVM officials said the fact that Mr. Vicente and Ms. Edmondson had achieved the High Rank-level of Green even though they were “suppressives” – a term NXIVM labels people who are not in conformity with NXIVM beliefs – convinced Keith Raniere that the ‘stripe path’ has ethical problems because it has no surefire way to weed out suppressives before they achieve the High Rank of Green. At that rank, suppressives could do much to harm to the organization.
During NXIVM’s history, 4 of the 14 individuals who achieved the High Rank of Green have left NXIVM, accounting for a 30 percent defection rate at that top level.
