Allison Mack, Former ‘Smallville’ Cast Member Caught in NXIVM Scandal, Is Released From Prison
She expressed regret for her role in Keith Raniere sex cult
Allison Mack, a former cast member on Smallville, was released from prison in California July 3 following a sentence for her role in the NXIVM cult scandal. She was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 but was released after two. Mack, who is 40, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in 2019. She had recruited women to the sex cult on behalf of cult leader Keith Raniere. Their group was known as “The Vow” and Mack was said to be a “master” of the group.
Founded in 1998 by Raniere, NXIVM started out providing seminars related to human potential development. A New York Times investigative story in 2017 reported on women in the movement being branded and blackmailed. A legal investigation ensued, and criminal charges were brought against Raniere, Mack and others.
Mack helped prosecutors accumulate evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society that included brainwashed women who were branded with his initials, reported CBS News, and were forced to have sex with him. Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on sex-trafficking charges.
In a letter to NXIVM survivors written days before her sentencing, Mack expressed regret. "It is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry," she wrote.
Mack played young Clark Kent’s friend Chloe on Smallville, which was on The WB and The CW from 2001 to 2011. It followed a teen Clark Kent growing up in Smallville, Kansas.
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Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.