Allison Mack

Raniere has pleaded not guilty and denied the charges. His lawyers say his relationships with the alleged victims were consensual.

Health officials are investigating a doctor they say branded women under unsafe conditions at the behest of the spiritual leader of a secretive self-help group based in upstate New York, according to court documents about the accusations.

TV actress Allison Mack pleaded guilty Monday to charges she was involved in a scheme to turn women into sex slaves for the spiritual leader of a cult-like upstate New York group, a development that came on the same day jury selection began for a federal trial in the case.