"Smallville" actor Allison Mack released from prison for her role in alleged sex cult NXIVM
The television actor Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty for her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult-like group NXIVM, has been released from a California prison, according to a government website.
Mack, best known for her role as a young Superman's close friend on "Smallville," was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2021 after pleading guilty two years earlier to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.
Online records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Mack, 40, was released Monday from a federal prison in Dublin, California, near San Francisco. Her release was first reported by the Albany Times-Union.
Mack avoided a longer prison term by cooperating with federal authorities in their case against Raniere, who was ultimately sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on sex-trafficking charges.
The actor was also required to do 1,000 hours of community service as part of her sentence, CBS New York reported.
Mack helped prosecutors mount evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society that included brainwashed women who were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.
Mack allegedly recruited women to a secretive smaller group known as DOS or "The Vow." As a "master" in the group, billed as focused on women's empowerment and mentorship, Mack supervised several "slaves" and was only second to Raniere, the only man in the group.
According to court filings, DOS members were required to be filmed naked during the branding. Prosecutors also alleged members were coerced "to perform labor, take nude photographs and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere."
In addition to Mack, members of the group included an heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune, Clare Bronfman; and a daughter of TV star Catherine Oxenberg of "Dynasty" fame.
At her 2021 sentencing in Brooklyn federal court, Mack was remorseful.
"I made choices I will forever regret," she said, telling the judge she was filled with "remorse and guilt."
