‘Smallville’ Alum Allison Mack Released From Prison Early After Serving 21 Months for Role in NXIVM
Actress Allison Mack has been released from jail early after being sentenced to three years behind bars for her involvement in the sex cult NXIVM.
The Smallville alum, 40, was released from prison on Monday, July 3, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. Mack was sentenced to three years of jail time in June 2021 after pleading guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges in connection to NXIVM in April 2018. She began her prison sentence in September 2021. The reason behind Mack’s early prison release is currently unknown.
Mack’s legal drama began in April 2018 after she was arrested for allegedly recruiting women to the sex trafficking group to become sex slaves to its leader, Keith Raniere, in addition to identity fraud and money laundering. “The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit,” United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter at the time.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly in April 2018, Mack — who is best known for portraying young Clark Kent’s (Tom Welling) friend Chloe Sullivan on The CW’s Smallville from 2001 to 2011 — recruited women to NXIVM by describing it as “a women’s empowerment group or sorority.” After joining members were forced to “provide [NXIVM] with naked photographs, assets, criminal confessions and other damaging information, known as collateral.”
The docs also stated that Mack “would perform ceremonies in which her slaves were branded” with Raniere’s initials and that she “would place her hands on the slaves’ chests and told them to ‘feel the pain’ and to ‘think of their master,’ as slaves cried in pain.” Old tweets of Mack’s resurfaced amid the scandal, in which she seemingly attempted to recruit Emma Watson and Kelly Clarkson into NXIVM.
Following her arrest, Mack was released on a $5 million bail bond and sentenced to house arrest. In April 2019, she changed her not guilty plea, pleading guilty to conspiracy and racketeering charges not long after NXIVM cofounder, Nancy Salzman, and her daughter, Lauren Salzman, both pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges one month prior.
Raniere, 62, for his part, was sentenced to 120 years behind bars in October 2020 after being convicted of seven felony charges related to sex trafficking of children, conspiracy and conspiracy to commit forced labor. At the time, he told NBC News that he was “innocent” of his crimes.
Mack initially faced up to 17 years, but she received a lighter sentence in exchange for giving evidence to prosecutors, helping with their case against Raniere.
Ahead of her sentencing, Mack filed for divorce from her wife Nicki Clyne, whom she tied the knot with in 2017. She also apologized to NXIVM victims in a June 2021 statement to Us, admitting that she “committed grievous wrongs.”
Mack continued: “I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had. I believed, wholeheartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him. This was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life.”
A memo attached to the statement noted that Mack’s attorneys were asking she receive no jail time. As a part of her June 2021 sentencing, the German-born actress was fined $20,000 in addition to her three years of jail time. She began her prison sentence early that September.
Several of Mack’s Smallville costars have spoken out about their NXIVM experiences over the years. In March 2018, Kristin Kreuk revealed she had joined the organization when she was 23 under the impression it was a “self-help/personal growth course” and that she left NXIVM five years prior.
However, Kreuk, now 40, clarified that she was not a part of the group’s “inner circle” and that she did not recruit “women as ‘sex slaves,’” and was “horrified and disgusted” about the allegations about Mack.
Alaina Huffman shared in May 2019 that she was invited to NXIVM meetings by Mack, but always felt that there was “a little something off” about the group. “It was just a feeling, and I was like, ‘No, I’m good,’ and I stayed away,” she exclusively told Us at the time. “I don’t know if that’s because I had my own village, I wasn’t very susceptible or vulnerable. I had a great group of friends, at the time I was married, and I had my kids.”