Jon Campbell

@JonCampbellGAN

ALBANY — A woman who says she was branded by a secretive sorority with apparent connections to NXIVM, a controversial self-help group in the Albany area led by Keith Raniere, was featured Friday night on ABC's 20/20.

Sarah Edmondson, a Canadian actress, spoke to the ABC news magazine about her experience with NXIVM (pronounced NEX-ee-um) and the night she and other women were branded with a symbol that appears to contain the initials of Raniere, who lives in an Albany suburb and has remained a controversial figure for more than a decade.

Edmondson, who willingly participated but said she thought the women were getting tattoos, told 20/20 the pain was "worse than child birth."

"Imagine a hot laser dragged across your flesh for 30 minutes without anesthetic," Edmondson said in a preview played on ABC's Good Morning America.

Here's what you need to know about NXIVM and the secretive sorority:

NXIVM's controversial past

Edmondson was a member of NXIVM, which is based near Albany and offers what it bills as self-help workshops, known as Executive Success Programs. She helped start the group's Vancouver chapter.

Former members, including Edmondson, have said the group is cult-like, however. Members refer to Raniere — who touts himself as having one of the highest IQs in the world — as "vanguard" and Nancy Salzman, the group's president, as "prefect", as detailed in a patent application filed in 2000.

Raniere rarely speaks in public, though he appears in a lengthy video series on YouTube in discussion with NXIVM members.

For years, NXIVM has drawn scrutiny from news outlets in the Capital Region.

NXIVM has been aggressively litigious, filing numerous lawsuits and complaints against former members who speak out against the group and journalists who examine its practices.

Among NXIVM's most prominent members include Clare and Sara Bronfman, daughters of the late billionaire Edgar Bronfman, who led the Segram liquor company. In 2009, the Bronfman sisters brought the Dalai Lama to Albany, where he presented Raniere with an honorary sash on stage.

Among other known NXIVM members are Allison Mack, an actress known for her role in the CW network's Smallville. She interviews Raniere in some of the YouTube videos, saying she has been Raniere's student "for years."

The branding incident

In October, The New York Times reported on Edmondson's story, in which she said she and other NXIVM members were told of a new, secret sorority only after giving up collateral, which in Edmondson's case was a letter detailing her past indiscretions.

Edmondson said the sorority was billed by Salzman's daughter, Lauren, to be a "force for good, one that could grow into a network that could influence events like elections," according to the Times.

In March, Edmondson said she and other women were invited to participate in an initiation ceremony in Clifton Park, a suburb north of Albany.

She detailed what happened next in a complaint to the state Department of Health's Office of Professional Medical Conduct.

"I was blindfolded in Clifton Park and taken to an unknown address in Knox Woods (a condo development) with four of my other 'sisters' — other recruits in this sorority," Edmondson wrote.

"We were told to remove our blindfolds, get undressed head to toe, and were held down by five women while (a doctor) performed what I thought was going to be a tattoo."

It wasn't a tattoo, however, according to the complaint. It was a 2 inch by 2 inch burn "made with a cauterizing iron on the pubic area". It took 30 minutes and was filmed, according to her complaint.

Later, Edmondson discovered the brand included the initials of Raniere and Mack, according to the complaint.

NXIVM denies wrongdoing

Raniere and NXIVM, meanwhile, deny any wrongdoing and have distanced themselves from the secret sorority.

In a letter posted to NXIVM's website, Raniere claims the group has hired unnamed "experts" that have "firmly concluded that there is no merit to the allegations that we are abusing, coercing or harming individuals."

His letter does not name any of the "experts," but claims they are "a forensic psychiatrist of international repute, psychologists and ex-law enforcement."

"Additionally, I feel it is important to clarify the sorority is not part of NXIVM and that I am not associated with the group," Raniere wrote. "I firmly support one’s right to freedom of expression, so what the sorority or any other social group chooses to do is not our business so long as there is no abuse."

While Raniere denied involvement with the sorority, he said his "experts" examined the group and found no women were coerced.

"Furthermore, the sorority is proud of what they created and want to share their story," he wrote. "I am confident they will be addressing you very soon."

Branding incident under review

The Department of Health originally declined to launch an investigation into Edmondson's complaint, which focuses on the doctor who allegedly oversaw the branding, because the doctor was not acting as her physician at the time, according to a letter provided to the Times. A second complaint was filed against another doctor who allegedly showed the women disturbing images and scenes as part of a secretive study.

But after the Times' story examining NXIVM and the sorority was published, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office said his counsel's office would review whether the Health Department acted appropriately.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi called the allegations "disturbing."

"Counsel’s Office will be reviewing this matter to determine if applicable laws, regulations and procedures were followed by the agencies cited in this report and that review will determine if further action is warranted," he said in an October statement.

On Friday, Azzopardi said the review is still underway.

'The executive’s investigation of the departments' handling of the complaints is still ongoing, and we plan on having recommendations in the near future on potential changes to the protocols used by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct in reviewing complaints," he said in a statement.

"Furthermore, two months ago, the executive directed OPMC to conduct another review and investigation of all complaints filed against the two doctors. At this time, we cannot legally comment further on that review.‎"