How Escaped A HOLLYWOOD CULT

A YOUNG ACTRESS THOUGHT SHE'D JOINED A SELF-HELP GROUP — INSTEAD, SHE WAS BEING GROOMED AS A SEX SLAVE

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Jessica Joan was haunted by a painful past. Raised by her grandmother after her drug-addicted parents lost custody, she was sexually abused by a male adult while in middle school. Following a 2016 move to LA in her mid-20s to pursue acting, she accepted an invite to a personal development seminar hosted by NXIVM, which presented itself as a self-help organization with a charismatic leader, Keith Raniere. Desperate to heal and impressed by women she met there — including Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg’s daughter India, 33, and Smallville star Allison Mack (actresses from Hawaii Five-O and Battlestar Galactica were also members) — she joined. Soon, she was offered a “mentorship opportunity” in a secret subset of the group called The Vow.