Nxivm: Sex cult leader Raniere found guilty in New York

[TomSea]

Nxivm: Sex cult leader Raniere found guilty in New York

Leader of sex cult Nxivm Keith Raniere has been found guilty of all charges against him in a New York court.

Jurors issued the verdict against Raniere, 58, after a six-week trial in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors accused him of overseeing a "slave and master" system in his group.

He was charged with crimes including racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking and possession of child pornography.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48699099

[mountaineer]

After the verdict, the Nxivm prosecutors, men and women, wept
By Dianne Lipson | June 20, 2019

Dianne Lipson, who kept us so well informed during the Nxivm trial, sent us these observations of the scene when the jury’s verdict was read Wednesday…

Very few of us expected a jury verdict yesterday. We were having a nice lunch in the park across from the courthouse at a quarter to two. There was no rush, we knew this was the judge’s lunch hour. Suddenly we saw one of the in-house reporters running past us and into the courthouse, clutching her cellphone. We all took off running in her wake. At 2:30, when the verdict was to be announced, the courtroom was full. Full of people, and full of anticipation.   ...

We noticed that Prosecutor Penza could not keep a grin off her face. I was told that when the verdict was read in the courtroom, the prosecutors cried – both the men and the women. As the government lawyers strolled back to the courthouse, the crowd cheered.   ...

Cult expert Dr. Janja Lalich told me that after they have heard all that disturbing testimony, she thinks the jurors will now need counseling.

Undoubtedly what happened in court these last few weeks is being closely watched by leaders of high-control groups all over the country. As the judge said, this was an unusual case. Possibly there has never been another one quite like it. Will this verdict be a tipping point, a kind of me-too moment for survivors of abuse by cults?

More at Tony Ortega's blog, The Underground Bunker