Trafficking Narratives and the Prosecution of NXIVM
Although cults often inflict significant damage upon their followers, the prosecution of cult abuse is a challenging feat because of the legally incoherent nature of the harms. Increasingly, prosecutors have addressed cult abuses by prosecuting cult leaders for human trafficking. We examine the 2019 trial of Keith Raniere, the founder of a group called NXIVM. Raniere never placed his followers in a sexual marketplace, and the operations of the organization lacked several hallmarks of trafficking, yet prosecutors were able to attain a guilty verdict. We argue that the prosecution’s success substantially derived from the attention paid to three “trafficking-adjacent harms”: gaslighting, coercive control, and trauma-coerced attachment. The convincing demonstration of these harms allowed prosecutors to establish a persuasive case against Raniere. The testimonies of Daniela, Nicole, and Sylvie, three victim/survivors of NXIVM, reveal how prosecutors use anti-trafficking legal frameworks to address cult exploitation.