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Women Say They Were Branded, Traumatized

NXIVM.com

Women say they were branded and traumatized by doctors in a secretive New York group, and state officials say they'll review why authorities didn't act sooner on the women's reports.

A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday officials also will examine whether the women's complaints warrant an investigation now.

The action comes after The New York Times reported on complaints about a group affiliated with the self-help organization NXIVM, based in suburban Albany. NXIVM calls the women's complaints "lies."

One woman says she was held down and branded by a female doctor during an initiation ritual. Another says she was traumatized when a male doctor forced her to watch violent film clips while a machine recorded her brainwaves.

The women say state medical regulators declined to act when they complained over the summer.

© 2017 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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