Smallville Star Allison Mack Starts Prison Sentence Early

By Russ Burlingame

Allison Mack, the actress best known for her role in Smallville, has begun her prison sentence early. Mack was sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of racketeering conspiracy related to her role in NXIVM, a cult that sexually abused and trafficked young women. Mack was one of the highest-ranking members of the cult, and as details started to come out ahead of the trial, she was accused of being hands-on in the process of literally branding some of the victims, and of being a right hand to NXIVM chief Keith Raniere.

After pleading guilty, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison. After her release, she will be on a supervised release for three years. In addition to losing her career and pleading guilty, Mack was divorced from her wife in 2020. Mack reported to prison on Monday, according to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, CA (via TMZ). She was supposed to begin serving her sentence on September 29.

NXIVM was portrayed as a network of self-help programs but ended up being not only a pyramid scheme but also a secret sex cult. The Smallville actress was one of the people recruiting women to be a part of that sex cult. Each of the women recruited who ended up being branded with group founder and leader Keith Raniere's initials.

Mack wrote a letter that was filed with the court last week (via The AP), where she said devoting herself to Raniere's organization "was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life." She also wrote "I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man."

Mack's lawyers submitted a statement in court papers, writing "The NXIVM saga and the story of Ms. Mack's descent have been a tragedy for all involved. But that need not, and should not, be the end of the story for Allison Mack. Ms. Mack now understands that this was the best thing that could have happened to her at that time."

Mack was arrested a few days after Raniere, who had fled to Mexico after authorities started to get close. The NXIVM Leader was arrested in March of 2018 and sent back to the United States for trial. Raniere was indicted on a number of charges including sex trafficking, conspiracy for sex trafficking, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. He was eventually sentenced to 120 years in prison on charges of sex trafficking.

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