Actor Allison Mack , best known for hit series "Smallville", has been arrested in connection with a sex cult called NXIVM.
Mack, 35, and the group's leader, Keith Raniere, who was also arrested recently, have been charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labour conspiracy, a release from US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York stated.
According to the release, over the past two decades Raniere established a series of purported self-help programs under the name NXIVM, based in Albany, New York, with centres in the United States, Mexico, Canada and South America.
Mack and other cult "masters" allegedly recruited slaves by telling them they were joining a "women-only organisation that would empower them and eradicate purported weaknesses that the NXIVM curriculum taught were common in women."
"As alleged in the indictment, Allison Mack recruited women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere," United States Attorney Richard P Donoghue said.
"The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labour, to the defendants' benefit. This office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting predators who victimise others through sex trafficking and forced labour," he added.
The prosecutors also alleged that Mack lured women into a secret society, "DOS" or "The Vow", within NXIVM, which was referred as a "women's mentorship group".
She reportedly forced the potential entrants to provide "collateral" in the form of compromising photos or statements.
Mack appeared as a series regular on "Smallville" and played the role of Chloe Sullivan on the show.
She has films such as "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves" and "The Ant Bully" to her credits.
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