Heidi: More Than a Decade Ago, We Tried to Alert Edgar Bronfman to the Crimes of Nxivm to Protect Ourselves and Save His Daughters

Heidi Hutchinson

By Heidi Hutchinson

Stephen Herbits’ testimony in the trial of Keith Raniere was most definitely damning to Clare Bronfman.

A few verbal swipes were attempted to be elicited by Raniere defense attorney Marc Aginfilo at Frank Parlato when Herbits was cross-examined.

Herbits’ status as an advisor and confidante among the world’s “elite” carries a lot of weight, as FR reported. I’m still shocked Herbits wasn’t able to shut NXIVM down from back in 2010 when Joe O’Hara and a few of us were in touch with him about the illegal activities – some he already knew of, having witnessed them firsthand, as he testified.

I suppose Edgar Bronfman was trying to protect and maintain a good relationship with his daughters despite their wrongdoings and the immense harm they were perpetrating on others through NXIVM.

Contacting Herbits was part of the effort that Joe O’Hara, Toni Natalie and I undertook to help Yuri and Natasha Plyam, Susan Dones and Kim Woolhouse, Barbara Bouchey, the NXIVM 9, Kristin Snyder’s loved ones, and other ‘victims’ being sued, framed, gaslighted, spied on, and otherwise harassed by NXIVM at that time.

Through Herbits, (and led by Joe O’Hara), we attempted to make Edgar Bronfman and the Bronfman sons [Edgar Jr, Samuel, Matthew and Adam Bronfman, Clare and Sara’s half brothers), even their mother [Clare and Sara’s stepmother, Jan Aronson ] aware of some critical facts – such as Keith Alan Raniere’s psycho criminal history – and the real endangerment to not only Clare and Sara but to Edgar Bronfman and his associates, the World Jewish Congress leaders, etc. (Little did we know then that the victim list included underage Mexican girls being sex trafficked and held hostage, etc. but I, for one, did suspect as much after “The Rat” appeared crying out for help on John Tighe’s blog.)

Keith Alan Raniere

I don’t know if my suspicions or the fact of the prior rapes and suicides reached any Bronfman eyes or ears until the February 2012 Albany Times Union expose wherein my deceased sister, Gina Hutchinson’s, Rhianon’s and other underage victim’s histories with Keith and cohorts were publicly revealed.

As damning as Herbits’ truthful testimony was for Clare, I believe it might have gone far worse for BOTH Bronfman sisters had the as-yet-untold, unvarnished truth emerged through witnesses of Herbits’ stature.

Instead, however, the now infamously corrupt, Bronfman-funded NXIVM defense team out of Albany (mostly) in cahoots with their crack law enforcement clean-up crew, like Rodger Kirsop, chose to “not be adult” (quoting Agnifilo at Keith’s sentencing hearing) and continued to unabashedly pursue false accusations and trumped-up charges, however possible, against witnesses and whistleblowers like Frank Parlato and myself, despite Agnifilo’s recent blessing on FR’s high journalistic standards.

Agnifilo made the defense’s intent to impugn Frank, at least, clear while Herbits was on the stand. Shortly thereafter, I discovered that I was also “under police investigation” on top of the bogus Child Protective Services investigations (wherein I was absolved of alleged pedophile activities with my own son), while in the midst of rampant harassment and gaslighting activities that included being stopped and searched by actual police, getting death threats from Mexican thugs claiming they were the police (in Spanish) against my Albany-based relatives, etc.

In short, I believe that so long as both Bronfman sisters, a whole lotta Mexican elites, and public officials in Mexico and here in the U.S. involved in or “consulting” for NXIVM remain unexposed and uncharged, innocent lives – including mine and my son’s – remain in danger in Mexico and here in the U.S.

Steve Herbits is among those who could, I believe, still help NXIVM victims and whistleblowers by ensuring the full truth is exposed and justice is fully served, which would vindicate and protect those who, over a decade ago, were harmed by Clare and Sara and their continuing to fund NXIVM despite the fact of the ongoing, ever-worsening criminal activity Raniere and they were and are, as recently as less than a year ago to my knowledge, engaged in.

I am not seeking restitution myself. But I continue to seek justice for Gina, the other true victims, and protection for me and my son.