Guru Keith Raniere, ‘who branded women with his initials and made them wear fake udders’, is charged with sex trafficking

The leader of a secretive US group that turned female followers into brainwashed “slaves” who were branded with his initials and coerced into having sex, authorities alleged on Monday in a criminal complaint charging him with sex-trafficking.

Keith Raniere, co-founder of the group called Nxivm, was arrested in Mexico and returned to Texas Monday, authorities said. He was to appear in court on Tuesday in Fort Worth on the charges filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

According to the complaint, Raniere – known within the group as “Vanguard” – oversaw a barbaric system in which women were told the best way to advance was to become a “slave” overseen by “masters.” They also were expected to have sex with him and do menial chores for masters, and to keep the arrangement a secret or be publicly humiliated, the complaint says.

The name of Raniere’s attorney wasn’t immediately available on Monday. In a letter attributed to Raniere previously posted on a website related to Nxivm, he denied the practices were sanctioned by the self-described self-help group.

“These allegations are most disturbing to me as non-violence is one of my most important values,” the letter said.

The complaint said that many victims participated in videotaped ceremonies where they were branded in their pelvic area with a symbol featuring Raniere’s initials.