"Evil churches appear in all their forms, and if someone promises you the whole world and takes action, be careful."
Following the arrest of Keith Lanier, the leader of the "nxivm" organization in the United States, the second person and co-founder Nancy Salzman also ushered in his own trial day.
On the 8th local time, Nancy was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, suspended execution, and fined 150,000 US dollars (1 US dollar is about 6.4 yuan), confiscated personal property of 500,000 US dollars and several properties.
Previously, Lanier had been sentenced to 120 years in prison in 2019 for seven felonies involving extortion, sex trafficking, and child sexual exploitation. Some people questioned that Nancy's 42-month sentence seemed insignificant compared to Lanier's sentence, but the defense lawyer's argument that Nancy voluntarily surrendered and had an old mother to support seemed to successfully impress the presiding judge.
Nancy and Lanier (left).
Before he went to prison, Lanier forced more than 20 women to become his exclusive "sex slaves" and cheap labor through brainwashing and extortion. The youngest of the victims was a Mexican girl who was nearly 15 years old. In the process, Nancy acts as a co-conspirator to recruit women for Laniere and force them to fall into the abyss step by step.
Nancy and Lanier were duly punished, but the scars they left on the victims' hearts are still faintly painful.
Open recruitment of "sex slaves" for "masters"
As in countless mornings in the past, when she wakes up, the girl Selvi habitually sends a text message: "Good morning, master." She knocked on several purple loving emojis behind the text message and attached a nude photo of herself. The recipient of this text message was none other than Keith Lanier, the leader of "nxivm.".
Lanier.
When she joined Nxivm, Selvi was only 18 years old, and she was trapped in this cave for 13 years. Selvi, who had the original intention of improving her riding skills, did not expect that she would eventually become a "sex slave" driven by Lanier. On May 8, 2019, 32-year-old Selvi appeared as a witness at the scene of the trial of Lanier.
Selvi was just one of many of Ranier's former fans, some of whom woke up earlier. In October 2017, a group of victims of "nxivm" wrote an article in the New York Times accusing Ranier, followed by a number of public figures, including the famous Canadian actress Sarah Edmondson, who also appeared to tell their unbearable experiences during joining "nxivm".
Amid the indictments of the crowd, the cult face of "nxivm" gradually became clear.
In 1998, Lanier and Nancy founded NXIVM in Albany, New York, under the guise of "removing psychological and emotional barriers for women and promoting better self-actualization," selling courses called "designed to help individuals achieve their goals in life" at tuition of thousands of dollars a month. Over the years, the organization has offices throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with approximately 16,000 members.
As one of the curriculum makers, Nancy controls the minds of her members through teaching and thus reaping financial benefits. She designed the Senior Manager Success Program, which provides trainees with so-called personal and professional development training at tuition fees of up to $3,400. Success courses cost even more, such as $7,500 for a 16-day "intensive training." If you catch Lanier's birthday, it can be celebrated for up to a week, and participation costs $2,000. At the time of Nancy's arrest, police found more than $500,000 in cash in her home alone.
Nancy Salzman.
Seemingly unremarkable training institutions, but behind the undercurrent. "nxivm" established a series of sub-institutions, such as dominus obsequious sororium (the "master of the submissive female partner"), which claims to promote the power of women. The group consisted of fifteen to twenty women, with a clear hierarchy, with the "master" being Lanier and the women being "slaves", and needing to take turns providing sexual services to the "master". They are forbidden to have sex with other people and are also required to recruit backup team members.
Similar sub-institutions are extra-legal places for Lanier to indulge in lust, and Nancy, who is on trial this time, is responsible for finding candidates for Lanier outside, constantly filling and satisfying his appetite.
In July 2017, the "nxivm" success course was held in Albany.
At trial, Nancy said she "didn't know it existed" until the details were made public. Defense documents also said, "She didn't find out earlier about the things Lanier did behind her back." But as the co-founder of Nxivm, the claim that for more than 20 years knew nothing about what the boss was doing is clearly untenable.
Personally sending her daughter into the "tiger's mouth"
Nancy's position in the "nxivm" can be seen from her title - all the members of the "nxivm" called Nancy "chief" and Lanier "leader".
Nancy, 66, was a former psychiatric nurse with evidence that she was a "master manipulator" who was well-versed in psychology and hypnosis. Victims claim that she used the so-called "Exploring the Meaning of Life" conference to unearth the trauma and weaknesses that girls had suffered in the past and then exploit them. It can be said that Nancy is the main force of "brainwashing" of the organization.
In addition to this, Nancy is the central figure in maintaining the daily operations of "nxivm". Prosecutors said Nancy also intimidated Mr. Lanier's critics between 2003 and 2008, hacking into their email accounts and creating an atmosphere of terror within the NXIVM group. Her "outstanding performance" allowed Lanier to sit backstage and enjoy it.
In 2010, Ranier commissioned Nancy to supervise a young believer named Daniela and give her some color to see because Daniela was attracted to another man. Eventually, Nancy imprisoned Daniela in a room for two years.
·“ nxivm" member activity.
Nancy's daughter Lauren Salzman is also a key member of the "nxivm" hierarchy. Lauren first met Lanier in 1997, when she was 21. At first she thought the man she worked with her mother was a wise and moral "mentor" who could help her achieve her personal success, but she soon fell into the clutches of a demon.
Lauren testified at trial that she had been in a "sexual relationship" with Lanier for seven or eight years from 2001 and was considered a "slave" by Lanier. In the process, Lauren also gradually became a new accomplice. She confessed at trial that she had recruited 6 women to join dos.
Lauren faithfully obeyed Lanier's orders, such as illegally imprisoning a woman for two years, beating other believers with a belt, and so on. After the New York Times published a report in late 2017, Lauren continued to testify under false prejudication on Lanier's behalf.
Nancy is remorseful for introducing her daughter to Lanier. At the trial on the 8th, Nancy said that the pain suffered by her daughter Lauren was entirely due to her own fault, and she regretted what happened to her daughter.
Nancy and daughter Lauren (left).
Like her own daughter, Nancy had a romantic relationship with Lanier. But at the trial scene, Nancy called the relationship "confusing" and "deceptive." Her defense attorneys said Nancy was one of Ranier's first victims, and after being bewildered by Ranier, she began to rationalize what she saw as wrongdoing.
At the trial, Nancy, in tears, said she mixed with Lanier, the so-called spiritual leader, because she wanted to help people improve their lives, but eventually lost her way.
Nancy's lawyer argued that the relationship between Nancy and Lanier was both intimate and like a business transaction. Since Lanier's arrest in 2018, Nancy has gradually realized that she is the "tool man" that Lanier has given and demanded, and has also helped Lanier "build up his prestige", which prompted him to be the first to stand up and apologize, thus receiving a light sentence.
Nancy (center) arrives at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
Celebrities and rich businessmen have been "trapped"
Among the followers of "nxivm" are many social elites, including Sheila Johnson, co-founder of black entertainment television, Hollywood actress Alison Mack, and the daughter of a former Mexican president. Some wealthy businessmen even abandoned their families for support, such as the sisters Claire Bronfman, the heiress of the famous corporate consortium Sigland Wine Company, who gave Lanier hundreds of millions of dollars.
·“ The Bronfman sisters at the nxivm" event.
The first is to leave the handle. An anonymous victim said she initially believed that Nxivm was a women's empowerment organization, and as a result, Lanier blackmailed dozens of women into joining secret societies, and if they agreed to join, they would be asked to provide indecent photos, or some false, shameful letters and statements as a condition of confidentiality, and the victims had to serve Lanier like slaves, including having sex. Fearing that the "guarantee" would be made public, they did not dare to talk about these experiences after they left.
The "lower body branding" is also a major weakness of the victim. Sarah Edmondson revealed to ABC that while joining the group's secret society, she was stripped naked and pressed by three people, asking her to say, "It's my honor that the master please brand me." A female physician then burned Lanier's initials with a hot soldering iron under her hips, and the whole process was filmed by other members as a joining ceremony.
Edmondson shows off the imprint on his body.
Lanier's trick also includes a property guarantee. Alison joined Nxivm during the confusion of chasing the "Star Path". It was also 2011, when the tenth season of "The Incredibles" was completed, and Alison was trapped in a life of wandering. In order to take her acting career to the next level, she threw herself into The Arms of Lanier. "I'm 28 years old and I don't know exactly what kind of person I am and where I'm going." So she signed a contract: if she defaulted, all the property in her name would belong to Lanier, and her future children would also belong to Lanier.
Alison relied on his star effect to shout for the cult and soon became an accomplice. During the lower body branding ceremony, Alison supervised the scene and put his hand on the other person's chest: "Feel the pain" and "Think of your master." If female believers disobeyed, Alison would force them to wear model cow breasts to class the whole time, and even threaten to put them in cages. Originally a good star, she was sentenced to 3 years in prison for manipulating women into sex slavery.
• Misguided actress Alison.
The victims are also brainwashed: "nxivm" can make people better able to survive in this society; sex is "healing" women; men need multiple sexual partners, and women need to remain loyal...
When these people, who either don't know how to get along with their families, or live in the shadows, or want to change the status quo of their lives but don't get the point, desperate to get approval, Lanier promises a better future, digs a trap, and then controls them through physical and psychological abuse.
Member of the nxivm organization.
In an online video, Lanier mysteriously "enlightens" that "as individuals, we strive to break free from the loneliness of existentialism, we want to touch others, we want to know that other people have souls." We want to experience that feeling of connection, call it love and empathy, or what others call it, energy. ”
And as Alexandra Stein, a scholar of cults, put it, "Cults appear in all their forms, religion, politics, self-help groups, therapies, sports, martial arts, commerce, business, and if someone promises you the whole world and takes action, be careful." ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Wu Text Editor: Dong Siyun Title Map Source: Shangguan Tu Editor Photo Editor: Su Wei
Source: Author: Global People