Lawyers for accused sex cult leader Keith Raniere want to bar trial testimony from a second woman who claims she had sex with the Nxivm leader when she was just 12 and 13 years old.
Prosecutors previously asked Brooklyn federal court judge Nicholas Garaufis to allow them to put “Jane Doe X” on the stand to show that Raniere had a habit of preying on young girls — like Jane Doe 2, whom he’s charged with taking naked pictures of when she was 15 years old.
Yet defense attorney Marc Agnifilo writes that allegations from “Jane Doe X” don’t apply to his client’s case, as Raniere is charged with possessing child pornography, not having sex with the 15-year-old.
“It must be noted, however, that Mr. Raniere is not charged with having a sexual relationship with Jane Doe 2. The charges, rather, are that Mr. Raniere took a number of naked photographs of Jane Doe 2,” the papers read. “Because Mr. Raniere simply is not charged with having sex with the fifteen-year-old female, the testimony of Jane Doe X is already less relevant than otherwise.”
The defense filing also questioned a recent request by the government to refer to members of a secret sorority within Nxivm, called DOS, by nicknames or fake names during their testimony. Prosecutors claim members of DOS were starved, branded and groomed to have sex with Raniere after taking a vow and joining the invite-only women’s group.
“DOS had upwards of a one hundred members, at least thirty of whom may be discussed at this trial,” Agnifilo writes. “Is the government really proposing that we assign a fake identity for each one? Short of providing the witness a glossary of which actual person goes with which fake name, the government’s proposal will not work as a practical matter.”
The papers note that a number of government witnesses and DOS members have already publicly identified themselves in the media, including Mark Vicente, Bonnie Piesse, Anthony Ames, Sarah Edmondson, Soukaina Mehdaoui and Jennifer Kobelt.
The lawyer also uses the motion to mock a recent request from prosecutors that Agnifilo, a previous assistant DA and assistant US attorney, not refer to himself as a “former prosecutor.”
“I have NEVER discussed my former job as a prosecutor at any defense trial, as that would be utterly improper,” he writes. “Since the government singled out only my former prosecution jobs, I assume I am free to discuss at length my five years delivering the Herald Statesman newspaper to the homes of scores of readers in Yonkers, New York and that I used [a] Huffy three-speed, with a banana seat, in doing so.”
Raniere is facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, child sex trafficking, possession of child pornography and other crimes for his alleged activity while heading the upstate group.
Garaufis has yet to rule on either of the motions, and opening arguments are scheduled to begin May 7.