NXIVM SEX CULT CHIEF KEITH RANIERE SENTENCED TO 120 YEARS IN PRISON

Keith Raniere, the founder of the cult-like group NXIVM where women were kept on starvation diets, branded with his initials, and ordered to have sex with him, was sentenced to 120 years in prison following his conviction for sex trafficking and other crimes, Brendan Pierson reported for Reuters.

The sentence was imposed by US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, after a hearing where 15 former NXIVM members spoke out against Raniere, 60. Garaufis said “no words can adequately express the lasting pain” Raniere caused his victims. He also fined Raniere $1.75 million, the maximum allowed by the law. “I do believe strongly that I’m innocent of these crimes,” Raniere said before being sentenced. He said some of the victims’ statements were false, but that he was “truly sorry” for causing them pain. 

“It is our sincere hope that today’s sentence does deliver some measure of justice to those victims,” Acting US Attorney Seth DuCharme, whose office prosecuted the case, said after the sentencing. “Keith Raniere will not be able to victimize people anymore.” 

Federal prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Raniere for crimes he committed as the leader of NXIVM, a purported self-help group based near Albany, New York. Marc Agnifilo, Raniere’s attorney, asked for just 20 years, saying his client did not mean to hurt anyone. Agnifilo said the sentence should take into account Raniere’s “perspective,” drawing a sharp rebuke from Garaufis. “We’re not sentencing him based on a perspective,” the judge said. “We’re sentencing him based on his behavior.”