Entertainment

Actor Allison Mack released from prison after serving 2 years in NXIVM sex-trafficking case

Former television actor Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty for her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult-like group NXIVM, has been released from a California prison, according to a government website.

Smallville star convicted for manipulating women to become sex slaves for group leader Keith Raniere

A close-up photo of woman with her hair in a pony tail walks outside next to a man in a suit with another man in a suit following close behind.
Actor Allison Mack, seen leaving a New York federal court on April 8, 2019, after pleading guilty to racketeering charges while involved with the NXIVM cult. (Mark Lennihan/The Associated Press)

Former television actor Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty for her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult-like group NXIVM, has been released from a California prison, according to a U.S. government website.

Mack, best known for her role as a young Superman's close friend on Smallville, was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2021 after pleading guilty two years earlier to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.

Online records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Mack, 40, was released Monday from a federal prison in Dublin, Calif., near San Francisco.

Her release was first reported by the Albany Times-Union. Mack avoided a longer prison term by cooperating with U.S. authorities in their case against Raniere, who was ultimately sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on sex-trafficking charges.

A headshot of a man.
Keith Raniere, seen in a file photo, formed what would become NXIVM in 1998. He was found guilty of sex trafficking, extortion and racketeering charges in 2020, and sentenced to 120 years in prison. (Cathy Pinsky/Pinsky Studios)

Mack helped prosecutors mount evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society that included brainwashed women who were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.

In addition to Mack, members of the group included an heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune, Clare Bronfman; and a daughter of TV star Catherine Oxenberg of Dynasty fame.

Mack would later repudiate Raniere and express "remorse and guilt" before her sentencing in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y.

WATCH | Understanding NXIVM, the alleged sex cult led by Keith Raniere:

What is NXIVM?

6 years ago
Duration 3:53
Understanding NXIVM, the alleged sex cult led by Keith Raniere and whose members included Smallville actress Allison Mack. Josh Bloch discusses the group's rise and fall.