At a Glance
- Lawrence “Larry” Ray was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for sex trafficking, extortion and racketeering after moving into his daughter’s Sarah Lawrence College dorm and controlling students for nearly a decade.
- Ray forced victims into prostitution, recorded sexual encounters and coerced false confessions, operating in three states between 2010 and 2020.
- Two former students sued Sarah Lawrence College for failing to protect them; Ray’s crimes inspired a Hulu docuseries and multiple podcasts.
- Why it matters: The case exposes how one manipulator infiltrated an elite campus, leaving survivors with lifelong trauma and sparking scrutiny of college safeguarding.
A father who charmed his way into his daughter’s dorm room at Sarah Lawrence College systematically turned her friends into victims of sexual, physical and psychological abuse for a decade, federal prosecutors said. In January 2023, Lawrence “Larry” Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison on 15 criminal counts, including sex trafficking, extortion and racketeering conspiracy.
The Conviction and Sentence
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called Ray “a predator” and “a monster” who inflicted “brutal and lifelong harm.” In addition to the prison term, Judge Lewis Liman ordered lifetime supervised release and forfeiture of $2.4 million.
Ray’s crimes spanned three states and targeted multiple college students, prosecutors said. He forced some women into prostitution, threatened to dismember another and recorded coerced sex acts, threatening to release the footage to family members unless victims continued obeying him.
From Dorm Room to Prison Cell
Ray moved into Talia Ray’s on-campus housing in 2010 after completing a short jail stint for a probation violation tied to an earlier fraud case. Talia believed her father had been imprisoned for protecting her from her mother, according to reporting by The Cut.
Within weeks, Ray positioned himself as a self-help guru, cooking elaborate meals and holding late-night “counseling” sessions with roommates. Santos, Yalitza and Felicia Rosario-siblings from Los Angeles-became entangled in Ray’s orbit.
> “He was like a friend of a friend of a friend-cool, trustworthy, reliable,” Felicia Rosario told News Of Los Angeles in an exclusive 2023 interview. “It didn’t occur to me he would be the person he ended up being.”
Escalating Control
Rosario said Ray began “love-bombing” her with gifts and messages while depriving her of sleep. He claimed powerful enemies wanted them dead and that only he could protect her. She moved into Ray’s cramped Upper East Side apartment, where she discovered he had already forced other women to have sex with him-and with strangers-while he recorded the encounters.
Ray insisted the filmed sessions would help victims overcome nonexistent childhood sexual trauma. Rosario, who says she was never abused as a child, was coerced into claiming her father had prostituted her.
> “He rewrote everyone’s childhood,” Rosario said. “He had me saying that my dad had prostituted me… All sorts of horrible things that just were not true.”
A Decade of Abuse
Most victims eventually escaped, but Rosario and Isabella Pollok remained under Ray’s control for 10 years until a New York Magazine investigation prompted police action. Pollok, labeled Ray’s “lieutenant,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2022 and received 54 months in prison.
Earlier Red Flags
Ray’s history of manipulation predates the college cult:
- Wall Street stint: Worked in finance during the 1980s without a college degree.
- Military service: Spent 19 days in the U.S. Air Force yet cultivated contacts with high-ranking Marines.
- Fraud conviction: In 2003, sentenced to five years’ probation for securities fraud tied to a $100,000 bribe offered on behalf of a Gambino crime-family capo.
- Custody battles: Served six months in jail in 2010 for interfering with court-ordered visits of his daughters.
- Domestic violence arrest: A 2006 case was dismissed when his girlfriend declined to press charges.
Claimed CIA Ties and 9/11 Conspiracies
Ray told associates he worked for the CIA and blamed subsequent legal troubles on conspiracies involving Bernard Kerik, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani. Psychological evaluators diagnosed him with histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders, noting he could “manipulate and control almost any situation.”
Civil Lawsuit Against Sarah Lawrence
In November 2023, two former students sued Sarah Lawrence College, alleging administrators ignored warning signs and failed to protect them from Ray’s emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The suit is pending.
Media Portrayals
Ray’s crimes have been chronicled across multiple platforms:
- Law & Crime podcast Devil in the Dorm
- Hulu docuseries Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence (2023)
- Investigation Discovery film Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story (2024)
Life Behind Bars
Speaking to News 12 New York from prison in February 2025, Ray maintained he is “innocent” and claimed he was “attacked” after a guard labeled him a “child molester.” He says he expects to win an appeal.
Federal prosecutors call that claim baseless, citing overwhelming evidence-including recorded confessions, financial records and victim testimony-that led jurors to convict him on all 15 counts in April 2022.
Key Takeaways
- 60-year sentence ensures Ray, now 64, will likely spend the rest of his life incarcerated.
- Victims’ recorded statements and Ray’s own video confessions sealed the prosecution’s case.
- The college’s liability remains unresolved as civil litigation moves forward.
- Survivors continue to speak publicly, hoping their stories spur stronger campus safeguards nationwide.
