Hollywood star caught in slave cult where women are ‘branded and beaten’

Frank Parlato, the group's former publicist, claims the women feel they cannot leave the cult - after leaders allegedly brainwashed them into handing over nude photos and confessions as 'collateral' to prove their lifelong loyalty to the group.

The claims come just days after Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg alleges the group brainwashed her daughter India. The star has met with prosecutors in New York and presented evidence against the alleged cult leader Keith Raniere. 

Parlato, who was the first to make claims about the cult's allegedly sordid activities on his website The Frank Report, told Sun Online that the women, apparently including India, are terrified to break free from the cult fearing their secrets will be made public if they ever leave.

The group, which goes by the name NXIVM, claims to be a 'self-help' group but Parlato says there is a dark underbelly to the organisation. 

The women’s-only group led by Raniere is known as 'DOS', which Parlato says stands for 'dominus obsequious sororium', Latin for 'master over the slave women'.

He claims that to join, women are brainwashed into handing over blackmail-worthy material such as pornographic pictures or financial information.

According to his report once the women become 'members' they are allegedly encouraged to recruit new women into their 'slave pods', stop dating and be on call 24 hours a day to their 'master'. 

If they don’t recruit enough 'slaves' or respond to their 'masters' fast enough, they're beaten with paddles, Parlato claims.

Sun Online reports to have seen a shocking text message, with a desperate member writing: 'If I suffer, cry or have any adverse reaction to being hit I get hit more.' 

New members are later taken by surprise, told to strip naked and then forcibly branded, according to Parlato.

Raniere is yet to respond to Parlato's allegations.