Seagram heiress jailed for bankrolling sex cult
The heiress of the Canadian drinks empire Seagram was sentenced to a lot more than six years in prison by a fresh York court Wednesday after pleading guilty in a sex trafficking scandal associated with a cult.
The 81-month sentence passed down to Clare Bronfman, 41, was viewed as particularly stiff, since prosecutors had themselves only needed five years of incarceration.
Bronfman pleaded guilty last year to credit card fraud and harboring against the law immigrants with respect to "self-help" group Nxivm, whose founder Keith Raniere was found guilty in June 2019 of experiencing kept between 15 and 20 sex slaves for years.
Prosecutors said that Bronfman spent tens of huge amount of money supporting the group, referred to as Nxivm - pronounced "Nexium."
"There may be little doubt that Raniere would not have been able to commit the crimes with which he was convicted were it not for powerful allies like Bronfman," the prosecution said.
Her defense had hoped she'd have the ability to avoid jail time and had needed a three-year suspended sentence.
Her legal representatives said that despite the fact that she had pleaded guilty to credit card fraud and harboring illegal immigrants for the group, she didn't find out about the sexual abuse committed by Raniere in an organization parallel to Nxivm called DOS, that was made up of "masters" and "slaves."
They said she only knew of the beneficial side of the Albany, New York-based organization, which purported to instruct classes for women's self-empowerment.
Of the six people charged in the scandal that broke in 2018, Bronfman was the first to learn her sentence.
Prosecutors have requested life in prison for Raniere, who'll find out his sentence on October 27.
Four others have pleaded guilty, including actress Allison Mack from the series "Smallville," who admitted to two counts of racketeering in April 2019.
The dramatic story has been the main topic of two screen adaptions: HBO's recently released "The Vow" docu-series and "Escaping the Nxivm Cult," a 2019 Lisa Robinson film centered on the testimony of a mother attempting to save her daughter from the business.--AFP
