'Smallville' star Allison Mack released early from prison after being convicted for involvement in NXIVM cult sex trafficking case
DUBLIN, CALIFORNIA: TV star Allison Mack, who entered a plea agreement for her involvement in a sex trafficking case linked to the cult group called NXIVM, was granted an early release from prison. According to online records held by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Mack, 40, was released from a federal prison in Dublin, California on Monday, July 3, 2023, as reported by Associated Press.
Mack, best known for playing young Superman's close friend on 'Smallville', pleaded guilty to allegations that she persuaded women to work as sex slaves for NXIVM head Keith Raniere two years earlier, and was given a three-year prison sentence in 2021. Mack was also mandated to pay a $20,000 fine by the court. The actress had requested that US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn sentence her to home confinement or probation rather than prison.
Why was Allison Mack given early release?
Mack was spared a harsher prison term as she assisted federal investigators in the probe against Raniere, who eventually received a sentence of 120 years in imprisonment after being found guilty of sex-trafficking crimes. Mack assisted the prosecution in gathering evidence demonstrating how Raniere established a covert organization with indoctrinated women who were forced to have sex with him and brandished his initials.
In addition to Mack, the group included India, the daughter of 'Dynasty' star Catherine Oxenberg, and Clare Bronfman, an inheritor to the Seagram's liquor business. Before being sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Mack continued attacking the cult's leader Raniere and showed "remorse and guilt."
The low-security women's jail FCI Dublin is likely most known for housing actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin for their involvement in the college admissions scam.
What happened to Allison Mack?
Mack began modeling and acting at the age of four, but she didn't get her first acting role until she was fifteen. In 2001, she was cast as Chloe Sullivan, a young Clark Kent's best friend in the television series 'Smallville'. In 2007, Mack attended an NXIVM gathering for the first time while filming 'Smallville' According to the prosecution, the secret society was built of brainwashed female 'slaves' who were coerced into having sex with Raniere, who started NXIVM in the 1990s, adhering to strict diets, and being imprinted with his initials.
As a member of the cult, Mack acknowledged that at Raniere's request, she acquired damaging information and pictures of two unnamed women, who were referred to as "collateral" within the organization, and threatened to make them public if they didn't engage in "so-called acts of love." In addition, the prosecution claimed that Mack demanded that his victims "perform labor, take nude photographs, and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere."
India Oxenberg testified against Allison Mack
India Oxenberg claimed she was enlisted by Mack in 2011 when she was 20 years old under the pretense that it was a group for sexual liberty. According to Oxenberg, who was one of the witnesses at Raniere's trial, Mack became her master after she enrolled and she was coerced into giving up damaging information about her family.
Oxenberg has previously disclosed that she was the first woman to be tagged in January 2016 while being held down by her wrists and feet by two other cult members. Oxenberg also claimed that Raniere allegedly groomed her for years and had sexually assaulted her. She further said that Mack should still be held accountable for what she did to her and that any sentence reduction would be a disservice to NXVIM victims.
