NXIVM leader Keith Raniere has been sentenced to 120 years in prison for his involvement in a high-profile sex trafficking case.
The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York made the announcement today, confirming the highly controversial figure will be behind bars for a long time.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who issued the judgement in front of a packed courtroom today in Brooklyn that sprawled into six overflow rooms. In the lead-up to the announcement, 15 victim impact statements were read that painted a truly damning image of Raniere — much like the recent HBO series The Vow.
"In every aspect of his conduct, Mr. Raniere has acted like the law does not apply to him," Garaufis said before sentencing Raniere. "Unfortunately for him, it does."
In the spring of 2019, Raniere was found guilty of seven criminal charges laid against him. This included sex trafficking, racketeering, wire fraud conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
The jury took less than five hours to deliberate, while the trial lasted for about six weeks. During the trial, disturbing stories emerged in the courtroom regarding Raniere, including how many female NXIVM members were branded near their genitals and forced into "slave" and "master" relationships.
The case found many ex-NXIVM members testify against Raniere, including Mark Vicente (who was prominently featured in The Vow) and Lauren Salzman, the daughter of NXIVM co-founder and longtime Raniere partner Nancy Salzman.
As previously reported, The Vow recently wrapped its first season, which ended with a phone call from Raniere to the documentary filmmakers from prison. The series has already been renewed for Season 2.
The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York made the announcement today, confirming the highly controversial figure will be behind bars for a long time.
Nxivm founder and leader Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison.
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) October 27, 2020
The sentence was handed down by Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who issued the judgement in front of a packed courtroom today in Brooklyn that sprawled into six overflow rooms. In the lead-up to the announcement, 15 victim impact statements were read that painted a truly damning image of Raniere — much like the recent HBO series The Vow.
"In every aspect of his conduct, Mr. Raniere has acted like the law does not apply to him," Garaufis said before sentencing Raniere. "Unfortunately for him, it does."
In the spring of 2019, Raniere was found guilty of seven criminal charges laid against him. This included sex trafficking, racketeering, wire fraud conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
The jury took less than five hours to deliberate, while the trial lasted for about six weeks. During the trial, disturbing stories emerged in the courtroom regarding Raniere, including how many female NXIVM members were branded near their genitals and forced into "slave" and "master" relationships.
The case found many ex-NXIVM members testify against Raniere, including Mark Vicente (who was prominently featured in The Vow) and Lauren Salzman, the daughter of NXIVM co-founder and longtime Raniere partner Nancy Salzman.
As previously reported, The Vow recently wrapped its first season, which ended with a phone call from Raniere to the documentary filmmakers from prison. The series has already been renewed for Season 2.
