Albany doctor allegedly conducted illegal human experiments for NXIVM 'fright study'
Dr. Brandon Porter, 44, from Albany, New York State, has reportedly been charged by a state oversight board with illegally conducting human experiments for the sex cult NXIVM.
Reports state that the sick experiments conducted by Porter, described as the resident physician, came to light after a former cult member alleged that the doctor forced her to watch disturbing rape and dismemberment videos for a "fright study" he was conducting.
However, it took eight months for the state Health Department to act on the former NXIVM member Jennifer Kobelt's complaint, according to New York Post reports.
NXIVM's leaders, including founder Keith Raniere, have been accused of brainwashing and blackmailing women into becoming sex slaves.
Porter, who received his medical degree from the University of Iowa, resigned from St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany last fall and fled town, according to reports. He got his New York medical license in 2009.
Kobelt, who is a Canadian actress, lodged a complaint in August 2017 with the Health Department and alleged that Porter may have performed his "fright study" on nearly 100 people, reports state.
Kobelt said, "He continued to film my reaction for at least 10 minutes as I just sat there, dry heaving like I was going to puke and crying very hard." She added that the doctor showed her violent images and videos without a prior warning.
"He failed me, not only as a friend but as the medical practitioner I had trusted on numerous occasions with my health while I was in New York," Kobelt added.
The state Office of Professional Medical Conduct, in a letter written on September 6, 2017, told the actress that the department would probe Porter and added that the issues she had described in her complaint "are not medical conduct," reports state.
The OPMC has now slammed multiple charges on Porter and has accused him of moral unfitness, gross negligence and gross incompetence.
Porter reportedly stands accused of showing "human subjects an actual video of the horrific and brutal murders and dismemberment of four women by machetes; and violent film clips, including a male African American being viciously stomped by a Nazi; a conscious male being forced to eat a portion of his own brain matter; and a graphic gang rape."
The NXIVM doctor has also been charged with violating state law for improperly conducting studies on obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, including one where he monitored brain waves of the people attending the cult's programs.
Reports state that several of the cult's attendees, including children, fell ill with an infectious illness at a 2016 NXIVM event and experienced symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. The state health department also charged Porter with failing to report the 2016 incident to health officials.
A hearing for Porter's charges has been scheduled for June 27.