Accused sex cult leader Keith Raniere had no problem with being called a “psychopath,” a former member testified Wednesday as jurors in his trafficking and conspiracy case got their first look at X-rated photos that club captains used as collateral.
Whistleblower Mark Vicente unraveled more seedy details about the group that posed as a self-help organization, as jurors eyed explicit photos Raniere and his lieutenants allegedly used to blackmail his female followers into becoming his sex slaves.
Vicente, a filmmaker, described pictures received and stored in a Dropbox account,” a dossier of incriminating nude photos and documents that Raniere allegedly threatened to expose members with if they disobeyed.
Vincente, 53, went through the photos — pixelated and censored with black bars — which were shown to the jury and the parties but not the public.
Vicente told jurors in Brooklyn Federal Court about a picture of a woman named Danielle..
“It is a picture I assume taken by her of herself,” Vicente said. “It has her crotch in the foreground, her face in the background. She’s lying down with her legs spread apart.”
Pictures of a woman named Michelle showed her in various poses.
Other photos showed the brands seared on members’ bodies, including one showing Raniere’s initials.
Vicente said the pictures were kept in a digital cloud account maintained by the Albany-based NXIVM cult members and former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack.
In an audio recording prosecutors played for the jury, Raniere is heard explaining the value of collateral.
“If you were to have an organization of sociopaths, which we are not, you can work an organization like that with collateral,” he said.
But Raniere hinted that he was a little unhinged, and told Vicente to assume, “I’m a psychopath,” when Vicente confronted him about his concerns about the group.
“I could be,” Raniere said, according to Vicente. “Let’s say that I am.”
Raniere, 58, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and conspiracy.
Raniere’s lawyers say his followers were willing participants and enjoyed the camaraderie of the organization. He is accused of forcing women — including a 15-year-old girl — into having sex with him and pushing his members into slave labor.
Five of Raniere’s co-defendants, including Mack and Seagram’s liquor heiress Clare Bronfman, have pleaded guilty. Mack is a possible government witness.
Prosecutors said NXIVM was a cult rife with female slaves amassed and literally branded for the sexual pleasure of its perverse leader.
