NXIVM Sex Cult Leader Charged With Child Sex Exploitation, Possessing Child Porn

In a new superceding indictment filed Wednesday, prosecutors charged NXIVM leader Keith Raniere on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession for child pornography. In November 2005, Raniere allegedly “knowingly and intentionally” employed or coerced an anonymous minor to “engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing one or more visual depictions of such conduct.” Raniere then allegedly “mailed, shipped and transported” the sexually explicit images. Raniere is also accused of possessing child pornography and storing it in a hard drive between November 2005 and March 2018. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Raniere faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment for each count of child exploitation. This comes after Raniere's alleged co-conspirators and NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman pleaded guilty to three racketeering charges on Wednesday. The NXIVM cult, which posed as a self-help group, drew in celebrities and other wealthy individuals to serve as “slaves” to Raniere—some of whom performed sex acts with him.