Day 12 - May 23, 2019

The court denied a mistrial motion without stating reasons and directed defense counsel to communicate by written note during testimony. It approved first-name-only identification for Daniela and prohibited sketches of her face. The judge also required advance offers of proof for questioning about proceedings involving him, while leaving open whether that questioning could proceed. On direct examination, Daniela described joining ESP at 16 and declining a Swiss school scholarship to work for its mission. She said Raniere later promised to teach her, but that education never materialized. She admitted stealing $6,000 from the administrative office and testified that she returned all of it. She described discipline after confessing and said she now believed Raniere had arranged the response to increase her dependence on him. Daniela recounted an unwanted kiss at 17, a request for secrecy and sexual contact shortly after her 18th birthday. She described directives concerning her weight, contraception and sexuality. She attributed a December 2004 plan to return through Canada using a false ID to Raniere and said Kathy Russell supplied the identification and crossed with her. She distinguished her resulting sense of obligation to Kathy from an explicit directive. Daniela also described sexual encounters involving other women, unwanted naked photographs and unpaid work. Over a defense objection, she recounted conversations before fall 2006 about Raniere having sex with Camila and expressed regret that she had not intervened. Direct examination remained unfinished.