Smallville actress Allison Mack released from jail on $5 million bail bond in 'sex cult' case
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Smallville actress Allison Mack was released from jail on a $5 million (£3.6 million) bail bond today to await trial on charges of recruiting women to serve as sex slaves into what was billed as a female mentorship group run by self-help guru Keith Raniere.
Allison, best known for her role as Chloe Sullivan in the hit TV series, was in court on Tuesday where the presiding judge approved her release from custody after her parents agreed to put the family's home in California up as collateral, and the 35-year-old agreed to live with her parents under house arrest.
As she left court, she was filmed battling her way through a media scrum with her representatives.
(Image: REUTERS)
(Image: REUTERS)
Last week, prosecutors in New York charged Allison with sex trafficking and conspiracy for recruiting women into a programme within Raniere's organization Nxivm, representing it as a female mentorship group.
They said that the actress, who has pleaded not guilty, played a major role in the group.
Prosecutors and Allison's lawyers said in a court filing that the two sides are engaged in plea negotiations.
Raniere, 57, was arrested on sex trafficking charges last month, and is being held without bail.
US Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky set terms that prohibit Allison from having any contact with Raniere, Nxivm or anyone associated with the organisation.
Authorities have accused Raniere of running a secret society within Nxivm where women were branded with his initials, put on extremely restrictive diets and forced to have sex with him.
(Image: PETER FOLEY/EPA)
(Image: PETER FOLEY/EPA)
Upon joining, members, who numbered as many as 50, were required to provide information about family and friends, nude photographs and rights to their assets, which were used to blackmail them into staying, according to prosecutors.
The women were taught that the society would empower and strengthen them, prosecutors said.
Nxivm on its website calls itself "a community guided by humanitarian principles that seek to empower people and answer important questions about what it means to be human."
(Image: Splash News)
Raniere said he was "deeply saddened" and denied "abusing, coercing or harming" anyone in a letter posted on the site.
Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Raniere, said earlier this month that he was "confident these allegations will be soundly disproven."