Raniere, 58, is accused of having a child "engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing one or more visual depictions of such conduct, which visual depictions were produced and transmitted," reads a new indictment released Wednesday.
Raniere's co-defendants, "Smallville" actress Allison Mack, Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, Lauren Salzman and Kathy Russell were allegedly aware of his predilection for predation, and even facilitated it, according to prosecutors, who have now charged them for that conduct under a racketeering count.
His co-defendants "were aware of and facilitated Raniere's sexual relationships with two underage victims: (1) a fifteen-year-old girl who was employed by Nancy Salzman and who - ten years later - became Raniere's first-line 'slave' in DOS," the filing reads.
Nancy Salzman, who is not named in the superseding indictment, pleaded guilty earlier Wednesday to a single racketeering conspiracy charge.
The documents mention another "child" of unspecified age that was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with Raniere.
Prosecutors say they've found sexually explicit images of the child, "constituting child pornography, that were created and possessed by Raniere and (2) electronic communications between the victim and Raniere reflecting their sexual relationship and indicating that it began when she was fifteen years old."
The 58-year-old, known as "Vanguard," is already facing charges of sex trafficking, forced labor, wire fraud conspiracy, human trafficking and other counts. He's been accused of heading a secret master-slave group within Nxivm, called DOS, in which women were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.
The new indictment returned Wednesday adds additional charges for Raniere for child exploitation and possession of child pornography.
"These eleventh hour charges three weeks before jury selection serve only to taint the jury pool," Raniere's attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement. "If the charges were legitimate, they would have brought them a year ago."
Opening statements are scheduled for April 29.
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