Following Keith Alan Raniere’s statement to the court at his sentencing hearing, it was time for the judge to sentence the Vanguard.
In a sense, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis was the Vanguard and the ethicist for defendant Raniere.
I have previously reported much of what the judge said in his sentencing memorandum. See: Judge Garaufis on Why He Sentenced Raniere to 120 Years; Part 1: ‘DOS Operated to Abuse and Exploit Young Women for Sex, Labor, and Financial Gain’
The judge began by discussing what he reviewed in determining the appropriate sentence.
56 letters submitted in support of Mr. Raniere.
More than 90 victims’ letters
The 14 victims’ statements read at the hearing.
Counsels’ arguments
Testimony introduced at Raniere’s trial.
He recited the charges Raniere was convicted of after a six-week trial over which he presided.
Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy
Count 2: Racketeering
Count 6: Forced Labor Conspiracy
Count 7: Wire Fraud Conspiracy
Count 8: Sex Trafficking Conspiracy
Count 9: Sex Trafficking
Count 10: Sex Trafficking
[Count 3,4, 5, and 11 were dismissed prior to the trial – and were referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York for appropriate follow-up and prosecution].
He also named the 10 Racketeering acts that the jury deemed to be “proven”:
Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft and Unlawfully Possess Identification, Jane Doe 1;
two acts of Sexual Exploitation of Minor, Jane Doe 2;
Possession of Child Pornography;
Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft;
Conspiracy to Alter Records for Use in an Official Proceeding;
Conspiracy to Commit Identity of Jane Doe 3;
Trafficking and Document Servitude of Jane Doe 4.;
State Law Extortion;
Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor of Jane Doe 5;
Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft of Jane Doe 7.
After a fairly long description of the judge’s view of Raniere’s abuse of women, he told Raniere to “Please stand with your lawyers.”
The judge then sentenced Raniere for his “particularly egregious… campaign of manipulation, exploitation, and abuse, [which] no words can adequately communicate the lasting pain, trauma, and hardship he has caused so many.”
Here was the sentence:
Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy – 40 years, to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed for Count 2 and consecutively with all the other sentences imposed.
Count 2: Racketeering – 40 years, to be served concurrently with the sentence for Count 1 and consecutively with all the other sentences imposed.
Count 6: Forced Labor Conspiracy – 20 years, to be served consecutively with all other sentences imposed.
Count 7: Wire Fraud – 20 years, to be served consecutively with all other sentences imposed.
Count 8: Sex Trafficking Conspiracy – 40 years, to be served concurrently with the sentences imposed for Count 9 and Count 10 and consecutively with all the other sentences imposed.
Count 9: Sex Trafficking Jane Doe 5 [Nicole]– 40 years, to be served concurrently with the sentences imposed for Count 8 and Count 10 and consecutively with all the other sentences imposed.
Count 10: Sex Trafficking of Jane Doe 8 – 40 years, to be served concurrently with the sentences imposed for Count 8 and Count 9 and consecutively with all the other sentences imposed.
Adding up the various sentences results in a total sentence of 120-years in federal prison. That 120-year figure is calculated as follows:
– 40 years for Count 1 & Count 2
– 20 years for Count 6
– 20 years for Count 7
– 40 years for Count 8, Count 9, and Count 10
– 120 Years Total
In addition to the aggregated 120-year sentence – which, per federal law, is not a life sentence – the judge imposed a variety of post-release conditions of supervision.
Raniere is not to be released until he completes his 120-year sentence. After which he will be on probation for a minimum of five years.
By my calculation, Raniere could get out, with full-credit for good behavior, sometime in March 2120 (That will be 102 years after he was first arrested and incarcerated by the U.S. government). He will be 159 years old.
Here are the terms of his probation after he released from federal prison:
He must register as a Sex Offender;
He must participate in mental health treatment programs – including those for sexual disorders;
He must pay for these services and any psychotropic medications – or at least cooperate in securing third-party payment for those services;
He must fully disclose all financial information;
He must participate in polygraph examinations;
He must not associate with other convicted sex offenders;
He must not associate with children under the age of 18 unless a responsible adult is present;
He must submit to random inspections of his house, papers and computer devices;
He must not view pornography or child porn;
He must fully disclose all of his financial records;
He must not have contact with any of the named victims of his offenses; and
He must not associate in person, through mail, electronic mail or telephone, with any individual with an affiliation to Executive Success Programs, NXIVM, DOS, or any other NXIVM-affiliated organizations
Raniere plans to appeal the conviction and likely the sentence.
