Former "Dynasty" star Catherine Oxenberg is opening up in more detail about her daughter, India, and the guilt she feels for unwittingly introducing her oldest child to a purported self-help organization, NXIVM, that would lure her into what federal prosecutors have described as a secret sex cult.
Catherine sat down with NBC News' Megyn Kelly for a lengthy interview that will air on "Dateline" on Aug. 6, and Page Six got a sneak peek at the hour-long episode dubbed "A Mother's Mission."
Catherine, 56, fought for years to extract India, 27, from the group — leader Keith Raniere and his alleged right-hand woman, former "Smallville" actress Allison Mack, were charged with sex trafficking amongst other crimes earlier this year — after learning what was really going on.
Catherine tells "Dateline" that she is the one who originally took India to a NXIVM (pronounced "Nexium") course in 2011. "I brought her in. And that's why I feel responsible for getting her out," Catherine explains.
Though Catherine didn't know that NXIVM would, according to prosecutors and former members, create a smaller group — a master-slave society that allegedly coerced and blackmailed woman into serving Keith sexually and having his initials branded onto their skin — she was still devastated that she played any part in connecting her daughter with the organization.
"At first I felt horrendous guilt that I had participated in bringing my daughter into an organization that was this deviant and dangerous," she explains. "And then I started to educate myself. And I spoke to numerous experts. And they said, 'Would you stop blaming yourself? These cults are well-oiled machines. And India never stood a chance.'"
Catherine also speaks about how she initially found out India was suffering and, she believed, needed help — which she refused. Page Six reports that when a friend of India's called Catherine, who later contacted authorities, "She was terrified to speak on the phone, she was afraid that she was being tapped and she said, 'You need to save India.' She said they had signed a lifetime vow of obedience to their master… and then I flipped out," Catherine tells Megyn.
Page Six reports that in the "Dateline" interview, Catherine will reveal what India is doing now and will share a statement from her daughter.
Following "Dateline," on Aug. 7, Catherine — who's written a book about her family's ordeal, "Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult" — will appear on "Megyn Kelly Today" to further discuss the troubling events.