After a two-year prison sentence, Allison Mack, former Smallville actress and leader of the infamous NXIVM cult, was released from the Dublin Federal Correctional Institute Monday, one year ahead of schedule. Mack has been in the spotlight since the news broke in 2017 about the secretive group and its practices, which included branding rituals for female members.

Mack pled guilty to several charges and agreed to cooperate in the federal trials of NXIVM cult founders Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman, receiving a more lenient sentence than the 14 years she was initially facing. Raniere is currently serving a 120-year sentence in prison for sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, and other racketeering charges.

Though Mack has formally expressed regret for her involvement in the cult, the implications of her actions and their consequences on the victims crimes are still largely unknown. Learn more about how NXIVM first began, Mack's involvement in recruitment of woman who essentially became "slave" to Raniere and more on SFist -->.

Top image: Actress Allison Mack exits the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York following a status conference, June 12, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)