What’s the illegal part? If a chick wants to join that cult and get branded and treated badly, that’s on her. I haven’t seen a word that says he kidnapped or coerced them. Looks like he basically took bored rich women and told them you can be in my club if you follow these rules.
How is that a crime?
What a clusterf*ck that state is. The authorities hassle these people but never touch a little ville called “Islamburg”, a non-approachable fortress filled with, uh, moslems.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Unless there’s some evidence they were coerced or physically intimidated into staying in the cult, it’s on them. Which isn’t to say that the leader of this cult shouldn’t be investigated, though.
“How is that a crime?”
The following, and there will probably be much more.
Keith Raniere
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Raniere
Excerpt:
“...required them to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves if they wished to join.[5][6] In March 2018, Raniere was indicted on federal charges after being arrested in Mexico on sex trafficking charges.[7]”
The feds were after him before he ran to Mexico.
From what I read about this cult before, there is quite a toxic swamp of coercion, deception, blackmail, and threats. For instance, the women (allegedly) have no idea they are about to be “branded” in one of the cult ceremonies and are forcibly held down for it, so yeah, that would be major crime.
What’s the ole saying...
A woman can do whatever she wants with her body.
What if you are not allowed to leave and are hustled off to a country run by drug cartels?
If they’re involved in the adrenochrome industry, I say make the trials and the executions public.