Actress Sarah Edmondson says anyone can be susceptible to cult influence and hopes her own story inside NXIVM will help others.
In 2005, NXIVM, a “personal and professional development company,” intrigued Edmondson by promising ways to help her grow and thrive. She ended up staying with the cult for 12 years, progressing from student to coach.
“It was a wonderful community for many years,” Edmondson said Saturday at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville.
Then, in 2017, Edmondson joined DOS, a “secret sisterhood” within NXIVM. She said that’s when everything fell apart and led her to become a whistleblower.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, an investigation into NXIVM leader Keith Raniere was initiated in part after several women came forward and claimed they were forced into submission by the group, abused, and branded.
Rainere, known as “Vanguard” within the group, oversaw the barbaric treatment of women, who he referred to as enslaved people.
Edmondson said she eventually filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Health in July 2017, against Dr. Danielle Roberts, a licensed osteopath who used a cauterizing device to sear a branding symbol below each woman’s hip.
However, the agency stated in a letter that it would not investigate Dr. Roberts because she was not acting as Edmondson’s doctor during the branding. A state police investigator informed Edmondson and other women who made complaints that officials would not pursue charges against NXIVM because their actions had been consensual.
Edmondson said that the cult continued to operate in plain sight, despite complaints, until The New York Times ran an article while Raniere hid out in Mexico. Police arrested Raniere in 2018 and charged him with sex trafficking.
Additional charges followed, including child sex trafficking and racketeering. A a jury in the Eastern District of New York convicted Raniere in July 2019. He was sentenced to over 100 years behind bars.
Prosecutors later revealed that within the organization, DOS led to some women being branded with both Raniere and actress Allison Mack’s initials. They were then coerced into providing compromising information, including nude photos, to the group’s leaders.
Meanwhile, Edmondson, whose husband joined her on stage, said several loyal followers continue to fight for the “narcissistic sex trafficking douche bag” Raniere as he serves his sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson.
“People don’t join a cult on purpose. You are not immune to cult influence,” Edmondson said. “If you think you are not susceptible, you are more susceptible.”
Edmondson’s journey can be found in her 2019 memoir, Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life. Her journey as a whistleblower can also be found on the critically acclaimed HBO documentary series, The Vow.
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[Feature Photo via CrimeCon]
