Ex-NXIVM sex cult doc Danielle Roberts claims brainwashed victims 'wanted' to be branded

FORMER Nxivm doctor Danielle Roberts has claimed the sex cult victims "wanted" to be branded, but were not "harmed".

Roberts, 39, branded women on the hip with the initials of cult leader Keith Raniere at her home in Albany using a cauterizing pen.



During an interview with NBC 'Dateline', the osteopath has spoken about the practice, claiming the women "asked for it".

Nxivm was an organization that brainwashed and blackmailed women into being "sex slaves" while claiming to be a multi-level marketing company.

Keith Raniere – the sex cult leader who chose women to be his "property" – was sentenced to 120 years in prison in New York City in October last year.

Raniere, 60, created a secret sorority within the cult called DOS, which involved female "slaves" turning over nude photos and other compromising materials to blackmail them if they tried to leave, lawyers said.

The disgraced guru – whose followers included millionaires and Hollywood actors such as Allison Mack – starved and branded some of his victims "like cattle" with his initials.

Roberts, who branded the women with Raniere's initials, has insisted that she never believed she was causing anyone "harm" by cauterizing their skin.

SEX CULT

She said: "These women didn’t come to me because they thought I was a doctor.

"They had no idea who the branding technician was going to be, you know? There was no patient-physician relationship."

When asked how she, as a doctor, could inflict so much harm on people, Roberts responded: "I think pain and harm are two different things.

"You know, I think people are making an assumption that people were harmed.

"Nobody was harmed in this. These women wanted this, they asked for this."

She said that for some of those women "now that narrative has changed and they’re saying other things".

Roberts, who was not charged in the case but faces an investigation by New York state’s board of health for professional medical conduct, also claimed the women "were laughing" at the time.

The sorority, formed within the ranks of Raniere’s Nxivm group, was presented as a women’s organization, but evidence presented at his trial showed him suggesting the branding and the way it should be conducted.

He was said to have told a senior female member of the group that the women "should say, please brand me, it would be an honour, or something like that".

Last month, before Donald Trump left office, Raniere begged for a pardon claiming they were both "victims" of "fake news".

“Although my personal situation is wrongful and inhumane, it has equally grave consequences for anyone who is affected by our US justice system," Raniere said.

"Hopefully all people will recite the pledge: ‘For liberty and justice for all!’ For me, by random chance, I became a nationally visible figure, and immersed in an amplified, hateful injustice. I am innocent, but can I be free? President Trump, it’s up to you.”

Frank Parlato, the group's former publicist-turned whistle blower who helped expose Raniere and his sex cult, scoffed at the idea of a pardon for Raniere.

Parlato told The Sun: “The chances of Keith getting a pardon from Trump are about as likely as persuading Department of Justice prosecutors to seek justice rather than to cheat to win convictions. Slim to none.

“However, after looking at the Due Process issues raised by his supporters, I think they at least deserve scrutiny. It won’t mean a pardon.

“It may not mean a successful appeal, but the exposure of Due Process violations, if they indeed occurred, is more important than ensuring the incarceration of any single devil, cult leader or brander of woman.”

Actress Sarah Edmondson, a former member of the NXIVM cult, helped bring the group down and facilitate legal action against its founder.

A former girlfriend of Raniere described him as "a wolf in sheep's clothing" and says that she'll "carry (her) scars" forever.

Whistleblower Barbara Bouchey, who dated Raniere for nine years until fleeing the cult in 2009, said she was satisfied with the outcome but would "carry (my) scars and wounds for the rest of my life".

"Keith caused a lot of pain," she told The Sun.

"He was the wolf in sheep's clothing. It was subtle… When (we) started to see it (we) thought we were the one(s) who were crazy. It warped (our) heads.

"I loved Keith for many years. I really thought he was my soul mate."

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