Lawrence ‘Larry’ Ray, an ex-convict, was sentenced to 60 years in prison by a Manhattan federal court on Friday was forcing his daughter’s ex-college – Sarah Lawrence College – roommates into labor and prostitution.
Judge Lewis J. Liman described the 63-year-old as an ‘evil genius’ who controlled every aspect of his victims’ lives.
“There is no reason to believe Mr. Ray will age out of criminal behavior,” Liman said. The judge further noted that the crimes began in 2010 after he moved into his daughter Talia’s on-campus housing. Ray charmed his victims with his “exaggerated sense of self” and his intelligence before “robbing them of their relationships, self worth, memories and then their bodies” after convincing them they had poisoned him and owed him for it, the judge added.
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Who are Lawrence Larry Ray’s victims?
Claudia Drury testified under her real name. She said that Ray allegedly controlled her eating habits and sleep schedule at Sarah Lawrence. She travelled to Pinehurst, North Carolina in the summer of 2013.
She also claimed he forced her to work late into the night and encouraged her to have sex with strangers. She was pushed towards BDSM culture.
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“With clients, I knew if I asked them to stop, they would stop. I did not think that he would stop if I asked him to stop,” Drury told the jury. She further claimed that Ray charged upwards of $2,000 for a one-hour session.
Santos Rosario met Lawrence Ray while dating his daughter, Talia. He then introduced him to his sisters Felicia and Yalitza Rosario.
Yalitza was a student at Columbia University and Felicia was an alumnus of Harvard University and Columbia medical school.
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Ray reportedly got into a romantic relationship with Felicia. He forced her to live with him, his daughter and co-conspirator Isabella Pollok in a New York City apartment.
Felicia too was coerced to have sex with strangers. In 2013, she was made to do free physical labor at Ray’s stepfather’s property in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Yalitza was initially made to believe that she and Ray were friends. He convinced her that she had destroyed his property and tried to poison him and his daughter.
