Former "Smallville" actress Allison Mack will appear in Brooklyn Federal Court Monday for a bail hearing in a sex trafficking case connected to alleged cult leader Keith Raniere.
Mack, 35, was arrested Friday and pleaded not guilty to allegations of trafficking, conspiracy to commit forced labor and other crimes.
Mack remained in custody over the weekend after Judge Cheryl Pollak refused a request from her lawyers to release her without bail, NBC New York reported. The actress has appeared in a series of minor roles since starring in "Smallville" from 2001 to 2011 as young Superman's good friend Chloe Sullivan.
Raniere, 57, was arrested last month in Mexico after federal prosecutors accused him of coercing female members of Nxivm, described as a self-help group, into having sex with him and branding them with his initials, among other crimes.
Prosecutors said that Mack recruited “slaves” for Raniere — who is also identified as “Vanguard” in court papers — after describing Nxivm as a “women-only organization that would empower them and eradicate purported weaknesses the [NXIVM] curriculum taught were common in women," NBC New York reported.
In an undated statement posted on its website, Nxivm said it was working with authorities to demonstrate Raniere’s “innocence and true character.”
After Raniere’s arrest last month, Clare Bronfman, a billionaire philanthropist and board member of Executive Success Programs, a company under Nxivm, said there had been “many defamatory accusations made and I have taken them seriously.”
“Determining the truth is extremely important to me, and I can say firmly that neither NXIVM nor Keith have abused or coerced anyone,” Bronfman said in a statement.
She added that the group’s sorority “has truly benefited the lives of its members, and does so freely. I find no fault in a group of women (or men for that matter) freely taking a vow of loyalty and friendship with one another to feel safe while pushing back against the fears that have stifled their personal and professional growth.”