NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere, in his first interview since his 2019 conviction for federal sex crimes and fraud, said that he took women being branded with his initials “as an honorary thing,” though at first he felt “almost embarrassed” by it. Women who were part of his inner circle engaged in master-slave relationships under the moniker Dominus Obsequious Sororium, “DOS” for short. Membership in the group, which involved sex with Raniere as well as starvation and sleep deprivation, culminated in being branded with his initials, “KAR,” via cauterizing pen. Raniere told NBC’s Dateline, “I took it as an honorary thing, a tribute thing. And that brand was going to be tattooed over anyway. It was symbolic.” Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison in October 2020. He said at his sentencing hearing he was “deeply remorseful,” but also maintained that he had been wrongly accused.
