Larry Ray (criminal) explained

Larry Ray
Birth Name:Lawrence Grecco
Other Names:Lawrence Ray, Larry Grecco
Conviction:Sex trafficking, racketeering, extortion, forced labour
Conviction Status:Imprisoned
Birth Place:United States
Trial End:April 6, 2022
Country:United States
Children:Talia Ray
Victims:Claudia Drury[1]

Lawrence Grecco(born 1959), known as Larry Ray, is an American criminal who was convicted of multiple counts of sex trafficking, racketeering, and forced labor. He founded what was described as a "sex cult" at Sarah Lawrence College.

Early life

Ray was born as Lawrence Grecco in 1959, in the United States.[2] He grew up in Brooklyn and New Jersey. He became a partner in several bars in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, including the Club Malibu, and JJ Rockers.

He was friends with former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik donating money to Kerik's wedding and was the best man at Kerik's wedding.[3]

Crimes

Financial

In the year 2000, federal investigators charged Lawrence Ray with attempting to bribe a bond brokerage firm executive, and he was eventually sentenced to five years of probation in 2004.[4] He later violated his probation when he allegedly abducted his daughter, Talia.[5]

Sex trafficking

Following his release from prison, he resided in the on-campus apartment of his daughter, Talia Ray. Sarah Lawrence College later told New York Magazine that it was not aware that he had been living on campus.[6] While there, Ray started a sex cult in which he presented himself to students as a former US Marine with training in psychological operations, as well as past work with the Central Intelligence Agency.[7]

In 2011, he and some of the group of students moved into the apartment of Lee Chen in nearby New York City.[8] [9] [10] He would even manage to convince Santos Rosario's sister Felica to leave her medical training program in California and join them in the Manhattan apartment.[11] It took 6 years for Lee Chen to get an eviction of Ray from his apartment.[12]

In 2013, four of Ray's victims graduated from Sarah Lawrence.[13] In that same year, he used Yallitza and Felicia Rosario as forced labor workers on his stepfather's property in Pinehurst, North Carolina.[14] The following year, he coerced former student Claudia Drury into working at a sex club.[15] In 2015, he then started to traffic Claudia into prostitution.[16] In 2016, Ray, Felicia Rosario, and Isabella Pollock moved into the home of one of Ray's friends in New Jersey.

Legal proceedings

In February 2020, he was charged by prosecutors in Manhattan with conspiracy, extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, and other related offenses, following nearly 10 years of alleged transgressions with students and former students.[17] At a bail hearing, an assistant U.S. Attorney disclosed to the Manhattan federal court that Ray had been arrested while in bed with one of his victims; bail was denied.[18] Defense attorneys argued Ray, who had been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder, was influenced by his psychological problems.[19] Ray was convicted on all counts on April 6, 2022.[20] On January 20, 2023, he was sentenced to 60 years in prison.[21] On February 22, 2023, Isabella Pollock was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for money laundering.[22]

Aftermath

These events were dramatized in the 2024 Lifetime television movie .[23] A documentary was also made, .[24]

Notes and References

  1. News: Moynihan . Colin . Sex Cult's 'Lieutenant' Gets Over 4 Years in Prison for Abetting Abuse . 8 October 2024 . .
  2. News: Bekiempis . Victoria . 2023-01-20 . US 'cult' leader given 60 years in prison for sexual and emotional abuse . 2023-11-29 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  3. News: 2004-12-12 . Sarah Lawrence/ Larry Ray pays for wedding Dec 12 2004 p1 . 2024-07-27 . Daily News . 4. .
  4. News: Otterman . Sharon . 2020-02-12 . The Bizarre Life of the Man Accused in the Sarah Lawrence Sex Case . 2023-10-08 . . en-US . 0362-4331.
  5. 2023-02-09 . The Story Behind 'Stolen Youth' . 2023-11-29 . . en.
  6. https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/lawrence-ray-cult "How Lawrence V. Ray Was Able to Form a Sex Cult at Sarah Lawrence College"
  7. News: Horton . Adrian . 2023-02-09 . 'He took everything away': inside a depraved and devastating sex cult . 2023-08-22 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  8. Web site: 2020-02-22 . EXCLUSIVE: Man speaks out about college sex cult mastermind living in his apartment . 2023-08-22 . ABC7 New York . en.
  9. Web site: Hanlon . Greg . 6 April 2022 . Sarah Lawrence Sex 'Cult' Leader Convicted of 15 Crimes, Including Sex Trafficking and Extortion . 23 August 2022 . People Magazine.
  10. Web site: Armitage . Rebecca . 12 February 2023 . How a dad moved into his daughter's dorm at Sarah Lawrence College and turned it into his own cult . 4 March 2023 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  11. News: Jacobs . Shayna . April 4, 2022 . Sarah Lawrence sex-cult trial shows devastated young lives . August 22, 2023 . The Washington Post.
  12. Web site: Crist • • . Allison . 2022-09-29 . 'Sex, Lies and the College Cult': All the Bombshells Revealed About the Sarah Lawrence Scandal . 2023-08-26 . . en-US.
  13. News: Larry Ray and the Cult of Cruelty at Sarah Lawrence College . 2023-08-22 . The CrimeWire . en.
  14. Web site: 2023-01-20 . Southern District of New York Lawrence Ray Sentenced For Years-Long Predatory Crimes Against Students At Sarah Lawrence College And Others United States Department of Justice . 2023-11-29 . www.justice.gov . en.
  15. News: Moynihan . Colin . 2022-03-25 . Sarah Lawrence Cult Jury Hears From Key Witness: 'I Became a Prostitute' . 2023-08-22 . . en.
  16. Web site: 2022-03-22 . Larry Ray goes to hospital as key witness testifies of harm . 2023-08-22 . . en.
  17. News: Salcedo . Andrea . 13 February 2020 . What We Know About the Sarah Lawrence Trafficking Case . The New York Times . 15 February 2020.
  18. News: 2 March 2020 . Larry Ray Was in Bed with Victim in Sex Trafficking Case When Arrested: Prosecutor . 12 May 2020 . NBC New York.
  19. Web site: Marcus . Ezra . Walsh . James D. . February 28, 2022 . How Did Larry Ray Run a Cult at Sarah Lawrence? . https://archive.today/20230209193908/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/larry-ray-sarah-lawrence-trial.html . 2023-02-09 . 23 August 2022 . Intelligencer . New York (magazine).
  20. Web site: Marcus . Ezra . Walsh . James D. . 6 April 2022 . The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence: What happened to the group of bright college students who fell under the sway of a classmate's father? . 17 April 2022 . The Cut . New York Magazine.
  21. Web site: 20 January 2023 . Lawrence Ray Sentenced For Years-Long Predatory Crimes Against Students At Sarah Lawrence College And Others . 20 January 2023 . justice.gov . U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of New York.
  22. News: Moynihan . Colin . 2023-02-22 . Sex Cult's 'Lieutenant' Gets Over 4 Years in Prison for Abetting Abuse . 2023-08-24 . . en-US . 0362-4331.
  23. Web site: Hemphill . Jim . June 21, 2024 . For 'Devil on Campus' Director Elisabeth Rohm, Lifetime Was the Perfect Fit for Her Movie About the Sarah Lawrence Cult . June 23, 2024 . IndieWire.
  24. Web site: Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence . July 2, 2023 . Rotten Tomatoes.

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