Former Nxivm members are speaking out about Allison Mack’s upcoming sentencing, which is scheduled for June 30. Mack, who has been on house arrest since her guilty plea, could get up to 40 years (or however long the judge decides) for her role as ‘slave master’ in the so-called sex cult lead by Keith Raniere.
According to her Pre-Sentencing Report the federal sentencing guidelines in her case is between 14.5 – 17 years. The judge is not obligated to follow the guidelines.
The Daily Beast interviewed two ex-Nxivm members and a former federal prosecutor to get their reactions to the news. In other interviews, India Oxenberg has something to say on the subject of Mack, and so does Jessica Joan.
Ex-Nxian Ivy Nevares Is Against a Light Sentence for Allison Mack
Ivy Nevares with Keith Raniere
Former long-time Nxivm member Ivy Nevares appears to have little sympathy for Allison Mack or her female co-defendants, despite their efforts to assist the prosecution in the case against Raniere.
She told the Daily Beast, “It was natural for the women to do what they had to do to save their own skin once they realized Raniere was going down.”
She also feels that “…too light a sentence for Allison might somehow normalize or condone women abusing other women.” Nevares expressed a belief that any woman would feel the same way about a light sentence for Mack, whether that woman is a former Nxivm member or not.
Nevares joined Nxivm in its early days, throwing away a promising career in NYC as a writer and editor to do so. She spent 15 years with Raniere as a girlfriend and Nxivm member. She says she she left him in January of 2018, while he was hiding out in Mexico.
About the first six years of their relationship, Nevares writes on her blog that, “He lived with me, lavished me with gifts and attention, much to the displeasure of the other women. And one fine day, he began shunning me, while he flaunted other women in public and barred me from even walking on the same streets as them.”
In September of 2020, Nevares wrote, “I hope Raniere and his co-defendants get the sentences they deserve so they experience, first-hand, what it’s like to lose precious, irreplaceable time. Although in their case, it is well deserved.”
Anonymous Ex-Nxivm Hopes Mack Doesn’t ‘Get Away With It’
The Daily Beast reports that an anonymous ex-Nxian would find it “devastating” if Allison only gets a slap on the wrist. “Indirectly and directly, she made scores of women suffer. It would be really sad to see her get away with it because she saved her own skin,” the former member said.
Legal Commentator Neama Rahmani: Mack “Didn’t Go Out of the Way to Help”
Neama Rahmani
Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and sometime improv comedian, had this to say to the Daily Beast:
“To go down from 14 years to home confinement or probation would be a miscarriage of justice.”
“Allison Mack was involved in some pretty heinous activity, and the fact that she cooperated does not mitigate anything she did,” Rahman added.
“While she did not do the bare minimum in cooperating with prosecutors, she didn’t go out of her way to help either. She was a non-cooperating witness that prosecutors did not end up putting on the stand. She didn’t go out of the way to help make sure justice was served.”
Rahman went on to suggest that if prosecutors decided to “not give her a significant, multi-year prison sentence,” the other women involved in NXIVM’s nefarious activities may “see the rewards.”
India Oxenberg Panics at Thought of Mack’s Sentencing
Allison Mack and India Oxenberg
Allison Mack was India Oxenberg’s master in DOS, and from the sounds of it, Mack was pretty strict with her. In the victim impact statement read by Oxenberg at Raniere’s sentencing, she said, “I felt obligated to engage with you [Keith] because of the blackmail and saying no to your advances meant consequences and punishment from Allison Mack.” She accused Keith of “encouraging Allison to punish any of us who stood up against her, every action orchestrated by you.”
In a recent interview with AwardsWatch, Oxenberg says that when she was told about Allison’s upcoming sentencing, “It really kind of threw me a little bit, and I felt really nervous […] when the thought of her being released came to my mind, I started panicking again, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m really afraid of this.’ And I haven’t wanted to think about it. And so I began writing my statement for her.”
Here's a clip of @dantrainor1's chat with India Oxenberg about NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and the upcoming sentencing of Allison Mack. Full interview coming soon. #NXIVM pic.twitter.com/J1BYinZHC7
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) June 22, 2021
She says she discussed whether to go to Allison’s sentencing in person with a fellow former DOS member, and they agreed they don’t want to go because they don’t want to give her the attention “and that it would almost be better to have a statement read on our behalf.”
Oxenberg Doesn’t See Mack in the Same Way as Raniere
Oxenberg says, “Keith really is ultimately responsible for everything unfortunately, even though Allison is going to be sentenced and she has done and committed crimes, I don’t see her in exactly the same way as I see Keith. I see Keith as ultimately responsible for everything. And so there’s a lot of mixed feelings of what she “deserves” and I do that in air quotes because that is not my place to pass that judgement. I just think that if she hasn’t been able to have any kind of recognition of the wrongdoings, then she is an unsafe person, period. If you can’t see that you’ve hurt people, then you can’t really be in society, you can’t play in the playground, in simplest terms.”
Oxenberg adds that she doesn’t want to appear in person at Allison’s sentencing because it’s not imperative for her healing and she doesn’t want to spend any more time or money on Allison, who has already taken up so much of her time. You can see the full interview HERE
India Oxenberg was involved in Nxivm for seven years. When she first joined in 2011, she was blown away and inspired, as she told Elle magazine. She joined the sub-group DOS in 2015, which she now says she realizes was a bait-and-switch scheme “that ended up with me being enslaved and branded.”
Jessica Joan: Mack Is a Victimizer
Jessica Joan, AKA Jaye
Jessica Joan, a Los Angeles model and actress, is a former DOS member who escaped before her branding ceremony. She says Allison Mack is a victimizer who needs to be held accountable for her role in the manipulative secret society. About DOS, Joan tells Fox News, “Oh, it was basically my worst nightmare come to life.” Joan fled the group upon receiving a “special assignment” from Allison Mack; her mission was to seduce Keith Raniere.
“It was horrifying in that moment. It was a very serious level of betrayal because I trusted Allison. We built a friendship. The assignment was to help remove any of my issues that had to do with being sexually abused in the past. She was going to put me in a situation to then create harm on harm that I already had at the time,” she states.
Joan hopes that justice is served to Allison Mack. But until her sentencing date, “…it feels like being in limbo. I don’t know one person that thinks being in limbo is fun. That’s the best way to describe it. I’m definitely looking forward to that day happening and having another door of this closing and really being able to put it behind me.”
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Nicole has not revealed her last name to the public. .
There is at least one more victim to be heard from — Nicole – who testified at the trial of Raniere. Whether she will make a public statement or appear in person or have her statement read remains to be seen.
During the trial Nicole described Mack as having manipulated her into a sexual relationship with Raniere which led to her being tied blindfolded on a bed and having oral sex performed on her by an unknown person while Raniere chatted with her. The jury found this incident to be sex trafficking and was the most serious charge sustained against Raniere.
