Sex-cult leader at New York college sentenced to 60 years in prison
Court, Gavel (Representational Image)
A man in the United States has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for sexually manipulating her daughter's college friends after moving into her dorm room in college in New York. Sixty-three-year-old Lawrence Ray was convicted last year of running a sex-cult-like ring at the Sarah Lawrence college, extracting millions of dollars from victims and forcing one into prostitution. In a report by the news agency AFP, Ray was found guilty on 15 counts, including racketeering, violent assault, extortion, sex trafficking, forced labour, tax evasion and money laundering.
Judge Lewis Liman, while handing down the life term on Friday, described Ray as an evil genius and said, "It was sadism. Pure and simple."
n the other hand, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said that for years, Ray inflicted brutal and lifelong harm on innocent victims, groomed them andabused them into submission for his gain.
Ray's crimes started back in 2010 when he moved into his daughter's dorm. According to prosecutors, Ray portrayed himself as a father figure and gained the trust of his daughter's friends before he subjected them to physical and psychological abuse. His tactics included sexual humiliation, verbal abuse, sleep deprivation, threats of violence and criminal legal action. The trial in Manhattan read that the 63-year-old exploited his victims' mental health difficulties and alienated them from their families.
He also extracted false confessions from victims about fake damages they had caused him. The victims then paid him by borrowing money and selling real estate they owned. In one case, Lawrence Ray had collected sexually explicit photographs and other personal details from one victim and forced her into commercial sex acts, from which he earned millions of dollars. In another, he tied a victim to a chair, placed a plastic bag over her head, and nearly suffocated her.
The AFP report also said Ray had laundered his criminal proceeds through an internet domain business and evaded paying taxes on the money which he had shared with at least two associates. Isabella Pollok, a co-defendant of Ray, is due to be sentenced in February.
(With inputs from agencies)