World News for Students of English

02-11-2020 15:00

The founder of the American multi-level marketing company Nxivm, Keith Raniere, was once a self-improvement guru who had clients from New York to Hollywood.

Between 1998 and 2020, the company held personal development seminars; however, the organization also faced multiple accusations of systemic sexual abuse.

Last year, Raniere was found guilty on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and possession of child pornography. On Tuesday, Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison on criminal convictions for sexually abusing many of his female followers. He said in court that he had no remorse because he believed that he was innocent of the charges. On Tuesday, some of Raniere’s victims arrived at the courthouse for the sentencing, and they told of widespread abuses in the early 2000s.

Difficult words: multi-level marketing (a business practice in which a seller earns money from both direct sales and from the sales of his recruits), guru (a spiritual teacher), systemic (a problem that is in all parts or systems of an organization), racketeer (to get money by threatening people), remorse (deep regret or guilt)

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