Among the more sensational allegations: Some women "slaves" in a secret NXIVM sorority were branded with Raniere's initials as part of their initiation. Others were threatened with the release of their collateral if they didn't have unwanted sex with him. His lawyers have opposed what they call "unusual and dubious" protections that would violate his constitutional right to confront his accusers. But after prosecutors added child exploitation charges against Raniere earlier this year based evidence he had sex with a 15-year-old girl, all of his co-defendants pleaded guilty . Hearing that, "My heart broke into a millions pieces," Oxenberg said at a recent forum on the subject.

Source: ABC News May 05, 2019 12:58 UTC