NEW YORK - The New York man charged with keeping women as sex slaves branded with his initials is one of the few cult leaders to face prosecution in the United States, but he controlled his followers in ways that are strikingly similar to those of cult figures who have been convicted.
Phil Elberg, a lawyer who previously represented Raniere’s former girlfriend and people who left a New Jersey cult, said Raniere’s prosecution reminded him of the case against fundamentalist sect leader Warren Jeffs, who was convicted in 2011 of sexually assaulting two young girls to whom he was illegally married.
“The insidious parts of these cults or groups is that you can get individuals involved who try to use those religious principles and beliefs and turn them to gratify themselves,” said Eric Nichols, who prosecuted Jeffs and now works in private practice. Kyra Jenner, who led the federal prosecution that convicted preacher Tony Alamo, said she was struck by the similar way Alamo and Raniere were able to “normalize completely aberrant behavior” for their victims.
That made investigating and prosecuting Alamo’s case difficult, said Jenner, who is now criminal division chief in the Western District of Arkansas U.S. Attorney’s office. Robin Boyle, a professor at St. John’s University School of Law who has written on cults, said prosecutors can increasingly rely on human trafficking laws to prosecute cults and cited Raniere’s case as an example.
Create sense of 'belonging', profit, neutralize outside influence, profit some more, normalize aberrant behavior, increase profit margin/control even more.
New York sex trial - you mean the one connected to politician like Clinton and someone who is running for President... her dad too? Why isn’t all that juice stuff in the title
But New York wants to make 'sex work' aka prostitution legal.
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Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »