Cult leader (s) with delusions of grandeur

New York: History.com

CBC: The Associated Press · Posted: Jun 19, 2019 3:09 PM E

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NXIVM leader Keith Raniere found guilty on all sex-cult charges

After a 7-week trial, the jury took 5 hours to convict Raniere

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The former leader of an upstate New York self-help group has been convicted in a U.S. federal case on charges that centred on lurid details of what prosecutors called a secret society of "sex slaves" within a community of followers described as a cult. 

A jury in federal court in Brooklyn took less than five hours to find Keith Raniere guilty on all counts of sex-trafficking and other charges accusing him of coercing women into unwanted sex using systematic shame and humiliation. 

Raniere listened attentively, but showed no visible reaction as he learned the verdict. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Raniere plans to appeal. "Keith maintains his innocence. It's a very sad day for him," Agnifilo said. "I think he's not surprised, but he maintains that he didn't mean to do anything wrong." 

Raniere's sentencing is set for Sept. 25.

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Prosecutors said the 58-year-old Raniere's organization, called NXIVM (pronounced Nexium), was more like a cult. They told jurors Raniere was known as "Vanguard" and revered as "the smartest man in the world" among some followers, but was actually a creepy con man who barely got passing grades in college. 

Among the more damning allegations against Raniere were that he had some women branded with his initials and that he started having sex with one of his followers when she was 15. Prosecutors said he took a series of nude photos of the teen that were shown at trial, one by one, to the eight women and four men who comprised the jury. 

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Raniere was arrested at a Mexican hideout in 2018 following an investigation of his Albany-area group that once had an international following with a foothold in Hollywood but was called a cult by critics. His adherents included TV actor Allison Mack, best known for her role as a friend of a young Superman in the series Smallville, and Seagram's liquor fortune heiress, Clare Bronfman. 

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Raniere's organization began to crumble amid sensational reports about The Vow — a sorority prosecutors said was created "to satisfy the defendant's desire for sex, power and control"— which alleged its members were held down and branded in ceremonies at a "sorority house" that had a mock dungeon.
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I heard and read about this group, again today. On the news and internet.

called a secret society of "sex slaves"  

In my years of academic study, I have heard and read it more than once from critics of cults, that cult leaders are often in it for the money, power and women (not all women, but the ones that can be manipulated in a cult).

They told jurors Raniere was known as "Vanguard" and revered as "the smartest man in the world" among some followers, but was actually a creepy con man who barely got passing grades in college. 

Common from my hearing and reading. Cult leader (s) with delusions of grandeur. A false concept of one's own importance and greatness.

A reasonable biblical theology of one's finite and sinful nature and the need for the applied atoning and resurrection work of Christ for believers, by grace through faith in regeneration, counters this type of cultic reasoning.