‘Brainwashed’ Allison Mack faces prison after being accused of luring women into an alleged sex cult. Now one expert says even if she was a victim, that’s no defense.

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It’s the question fans have struggled to answer. How did Allison Mack, 35, go from acting in Smallville to being accused of luring women into an alleged sex cult? One old schoolmate suggested she was “manipulated” by NXIVM, the controversial group she belongs to. Anti-cult expert Rick Alan Ross agrees. The founder and executive director of the Cult Education Institute tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that he thinks the actress was “brainwashed” by NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. He tells us, “The term brainwashing is really describing a synthesis of coercive persuasion and influence techniques used to gain undue influence over people. How do you know when there is undue influence? The way you know is that you will see people acting against their own best interest but consistently acting in the best interest of a person [who has] undue influence over them.”

Rick thinks this is an accurate description of Allison who he says was “acting against her own best interest” by allegedly “giving her money to NXIVM.” The actress now faces sex trafficking charges after former members claim they were allegedly held as “sex slaves” and branded. Rick says, “Ultimately she ended up being arrested and indicted and now faces life behind bars. Was this in the best interest of Allison Mack? No, but did she act in the best interest of Keith Raniere? Absolutely. That is how you can see evidence of what we call brainwashing.”

Even though Rick thinks Allison was allegedly used as a “pawn” that won’t prevent her from a prison sentence if found guilty. And he uses the example of criminal mastermind Charles Manson to make his point. Rick says, “Keep in mind Charles Manson brainwashed his followers. He used his undue influence to get them to commit crimes so horrible that they have been denied parole for decades. One of his followers, Leslie Van Houten, is now 68 and still in prison. She will probably die in prison. Allison Mack needs to think about Leslie Van Houten and needs to realize that when you have been weaponized by a leader to do things against the law you can be held accountable and spend a long time in prison.” Rick added, “Fortunately in the case of Allison Mack no one is dead but they have been branded for life. What is she going to do about that?”