The actress Allison Mack secretly provided prosecutors with a recording of sex cult leader Keith Raniere discussing plans to hold down and brand women who’d been recruited as his sex slaves. As a “master” in the NXIVM cult, the former Smallville star faces up to 17 and a half years in jail but that looks likely to be cut significantly after federal prosecutors revealed her cooperation in the case and recommended a reduced sentence. Variety said the tape features Raniere talking about a planned branding ceremony. At one point he asks her, “Do you think the person who’s being branded should be completely nude and sort of held to the table like a, sort of almost like a sacrifice?”

“Although Mack could have provided even more substantial assistance had she made the decision to cooperate earlier, Mack provided significant, detailed and highly corroborated information which assisted the government in its prosecution,” the prosecutors said in their memo. Raniere was convicted last year and sentenced to 120 years in jail; Mack pleaded guilty and did not appear at the trial.