Amanda Knox joins bid to help NXIVM cult leader

Amanda Knox, whose 2007 murder conviction was overturned, has been reported to have aided NXIVM attempts to release it’s leader, Keith Raniere.

Members of what New York prosecutors have described a “sex cult” were said to have enlisted Ms Knox in an attempt to help the group’s 60-year-old founder, who himself was convicted on sex trafficiking crimes last year.

According to the Albany Times Union, 30-year-old Ms Knox was among 10 NXIVM members who signed petitions that demanded prosecutors answer questions about alleged tampering with evidence, a jury, and witnesses in Raniere’s case.

The NXIVM founder is due to be sentenced on 27 October, following his March 2019 conviction for sex trafficking, which could see him handed life imprisonment.  

Ms Knox, who served a four-year prison sentence in Italy before her 2011 acquittal of the murder of Meredith Kercher, suggested on Sunday that she supported NXIVM’s accusations about improper court procedures.

“I personally do not know enough about the case to make any judgments about whether his conviction is wrongful or not,” she told the Union on Sunday.

“[But] I signed the petition because violation of these [court] practices would constitute prosecutorial misconduct, regardless of Mr Raniere’s guilt or innocence.”

Attorney Neil Glazer, who represented the NXIVM victims that Raniere allegedly blackmailed into performing sexual acts with him, called the petion “absurd” in a statement to the newspaper.

“It’s absurd in so many ways that I don’t know where to begin,” said Mr Glazer. “I’ve never seen anything like this bizarre document in all my years of legal practice."

"This is nothing more than a publicity stunt, orchestrated by Raniere to throw up smoke and mirrors and to peddle conspiracy theories to keep his remaining disciples in the fold,” he added.

The members were reportedly also planning to produce a podcast and hold an event in support of their claims.