YouTube Keith Raniere on YouTube
Keith Raniere is the notorious leader of Nxivm, a multi-level marketing organization later described as a cult. Raniere was convicted of seven counts of sex trafficking and racketeering related to the cult in June 2019. Now HBO is airing a documentary series about Raniere and his cult called The Vow. One question many viewers of the series will find themselves wondering: does Raniere have any children of his own? How many kids does he have?
He Has a Son with a Partner Who Fled Nxivm
Although many sources indicate that Raniere has two children, only one has received much attention in the media. One of Raniere’s long-time partners, Kristin Keeffe, had a child with Raniere around 2007 — a son named Gaelyn.
Keefe left Raniere in 2014 and turned over evidence of criminal misconduct to the authorities, Times Union reported. At the time, Keefe said that she was in hiding because of dispute she and Raniere were having regarding their son, Gaelyn. She and Raniere had lived in a housing complex for many years, and then after she gave birth to Gaelyn, she moved two doors away from him.
In 2018, court records revealed that Raniere’s son was now 11 and Raniere had no contact with him, The Daily Mail reported.
He Had a Second Child Born 7 Months Before His Arrest
In 2018, The Daily Mail reported that Raniere had a second child — a son who was born seven months before Raniere was arrested. This revelation was found in court records, which indicated that the mother and son lived in Mexico. Raniere had requested being able to contact the mother as a condition of his bail. The Daily Mail identified the mother as Mariana Fernandez.
His counsel had also suggested a $10 million bond for Raniere, a travel restriction to New York, and being confined in his home with GPS monitoring and supervision, while still having access to the Internet.
A Woman Testified that She & Her 2 Sisters Were Told To Have Abortions After Becoming Pregnant with Raniere’s Children
Former cult members testified that Raniere also had at least three women terminate pregnancies after having sex with him, Buzzfeed News reported. Daniela (whose last name was not shared in court), said that she found out she was pregnant with Raniere’s child in 2006 at the age of 20 or 21. She said the news scared her, and she was later told to have an abortion. She said she was even coached on what to do when she went to the doctor.
She testified that her younger sister Camila became pregnant by Raniere a couple of years later, and was guided to have an abortion too. She shared that her older sister had two abortions after becoming pregnant with Raniere.
Today, Raniere is in jail in Brooklyn waiting on sentencing, Oprah Magazine reported. He was supposed to be sentenced in September 2019, but his sentencing is now scheduled for October 27, 2020. Raniere could receive as much as a life sentence.
Allison Mack, one of the most famous members of the cult, was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and forced labor, ET Online reported. She was released on a $5 million bond. She pleaded guilty in April 2019 to racketeering charges. Her sentencing was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and she could face up to 20 years in prison.
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