NXIVM: Alleged cult leader Keith Raniere called a 'criminal' by prosecutors as trial starts

ALBANY – A jury in Brooklyn on Tuesday heard opening arguments in the trial against Keith Raniere, who is accused of leading the cult-like NXIVM organization and a related sex group in the Capital region.

Raniere's trial comes after all of his co-defendants have accepted plea deals and could testify against him. Raniere may face the rest of his life in jail.

Raniere, who went to high school in Suffern, Rockland County, could be on trial for five to six weeks.

Prosecutors alleged Raniere created a following of NXIVM members who paid big bucks to attend classes that utilized his self-help "technology."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar told jurors that Raniere used "shame and humiliation" while grooming women for sex.

She charged he had sex with a 15-year-old girl and took nude photos of her and described how some female followers were branded with Raniere's initials.

"The defendant pretended to be a guru," Hajjar said, "but he was a criminal."

Plea deals already reached

He is the only one of the defendants to stand trial.

Last month, Clare Bronfman, a high-ranking NXIVM member and an heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune, accepted a plea deal along with the organization's longtime bookkeeper.

She is expected to face 21 months to 27 months in prison and pay $6 million in restitution.

Actress Allison Mack pleaded guilty April 8 to federal racketeering charges, while Nancy Salzman, a NXIVM co-founder and president, pleaded guilty in March to racketeering conspiracy, confessing to stealing email addresses and passwords of NXIVM critics and altering a tape used in a lawsuit.

Her daughter, Lauren Salzman, also pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy in March.

Raniere's defense

Keith Raniere’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told reporters outside the courtroom Tuesday morning that his client acted in "good faith."

"I think he’s had good faith for everything that he did. And that’s basically the ground I’m going to defend. There are controversial elements to the case. There are difficult elements to the case," he said.

In court, Agnifilo said in opening statements that Raniere is misunderstood, arguing that his alleged victims were never forced to do anything against their will.

The charges against him include racketeering conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit identity theft.

Raniere was charged more than a year ago and has been in jail awaiting trial.

Federal prosecutors alleged that some NXIVM members were groomed for unwanted sex with Raniere.

Some were recruited to join a secret sorority known as DOS, where master-slave relationships were promoted and some women were branded on their pubic area with Raniere's initials.

DOS leaders were accused of trying to get members to provide them with naked photos and secrets about family members as blackmail to guard against them leaving the group.

More:The charges against NXIVM's Keith Raniere, Allison Mack and Clare Bronfman, explained

More:Rochester woman tells all about life with NXIVM's Keith Raniere, her ex

Includes reporting by The Associated Press.