Sarah Lawrence Cult Survivor Talks Hulu Documentary & Journey Forward

Possibly the astir haunting happening astir what happened to Daniel Levin and his friends was however eerily recognizable their lives were erstwhile they ended up nether the thumb of Larry Ray.

"I was a reasonably mean 18-year-old," Daniel told E! News successful an exclusive interrogation up of the Feb. 9 premiere of the Hulu docuseries Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult astatine Sarah Lawrence. "I was angsty. I was struggling with thing that I would present telephone depression. I was unsure astir my sexuality. I was unsure astir masculinity and however I wanted to contiguous myself. I was successful my archetypal semipermanent relationship. There's not truly a bully roadworthy map."

He surely wasn't alone, feeling adrift reasonably par for the people for a assemblage kid.

But when his schoolmate Talia Ray's father, Larry, moved into their dorm astatine Sarah Lawrence College astatine the opening of sophomore twelvemonth successful September 2010, it wasn't agelong earlier the magnetic 50-year-old had respective of her friends hanging connected his each word.

Even the precise word, cult, is "so loaded," Daniel, present 31, said. "We deliberation of it arsenic thing precise fringe. And I deliberation that however I look is not what we subordinate with cult followers. There were nary robes, determination was no Kool-Aid, nary 1 got stabbed."

Daniel disentangled himself from Larry successful the outpouring of 2013, the 2nd semester of his elder year. He moved into field housing, took connected 2 part-time jobs to stay super-busy and graduated connected time. But being the archetypal to get away—six years earlier a New York magazine article detailed the students' allegations of what Larry did to them—came with its ain unsocial challenges.

"I got retired and for years was living with it mostly arsenic a secret," Daniel explained. "In ways that I didn't afloat admit for a agelong time, that was truly disassociating. It opened this spread betwixt maine and different people. To not beryllium capable to stock that with, not conscionable the closest radical successful your life, but the caller person that you meet, your employer, your girlfriend's mom—no 1 knows these things. Starting to archer my communicative made maine consciousness similar I was capable to reconnect with the world."

Isabella's mother, Cyndi, recounts successful the bid that Larry called her earlier the commencement of wintertime interruption successful 2010 and told her that her girl wouldn't beryllium coming location to Texas—because, Larry said, Isabella had been molested arsenic a kid by a household friend, Cyndi was a "terrible mother" and Isabella mightiness effort to wounded herself if she saw her family.

Cyndi remembers being excessively stunned to bash thing but agree.

For reasons she's inactive trying to process, Felicia embarked connected a long-distance romance with Larry and subsequently grew terrified that she was going to beryllium harmed by the nefarious forces who were retired to get him (more connected that later). She ended up abandoning her beingness retired West to move in with him and the others.

These were radical "from divers backgrounds, with truly promising lives up of them," Stolen Youth director Zach Heinzerling told E! News successful an interview. "The quality successful this is, if you comparison it with different cult stories, the subjects are precise relatable. It felt similar maine erstwhile I was successful college."

As acold arsenic the specifics of what Larry did, "what we contiguous is simply a fraction of what happened," Heinzerling said, "but ultimately the communicative was much astir however it happened. How bash you get an assemblage to recognize what it's similar to beryllium 18, 19—that play of your beingness wherever you're seeking answers. And also, what does love-bombing look like? What does gaslighting consciousness like? 

"Those are the questions that we wanted to reply truthful that an assemblage tin sympathize with these individuals and not presumption them arsenic breached souls who are evidently falling for immoderate maestro manipulator, but to spot them arsenic individuals conscionable similar you and I."

What did Larry bash that led to the accusation helium was starring a cult?

Santos recalls however helium and the others were tasked with organizing the apartment, which arsenic seen successful Stolen Youth, was progressively jammed afloat of stuff. Larry was successful complaint of erstwhile they ate and slept, Santos says, and he kept them bushed connected intent truthful they'd beryllium a jumble of "raw nerves."

Larry would aftermath them up earlier dawn for boot-camp-style exercises, telling them they needed to "get connected apical of our s--t," Daniel says successful the three-part series.

According to audio recordings (Larry maintained a immense archive of his alleged therapy sessions) and video clips included successful the show, Larry alternately soothed and berated them. He often accused the students of breaking his worldly and, adjacent if they didn't retrieve doing so, they'd get truthful confused they'd yet admit doing immoderate helium said they did. 

And, shadowing everything, Daniel and Santos retrieve however Isabella ever slept in Larry's country with him astatine the apartment, the older antheral explaining to the remainder that the miss "needs a batch of help."

According to Daniel, Isabella came retired of the chamber 1 nighttime and started kissing him—which initially, helium admits successful the series, was flattering. But a fewer weeks later, helium was summoned to the bedroom, wherever Larry directed him and Isabella to person sex. That happened aggregate times, Daniel says, Larry sometimes watching and sometimes joining in.

He and Claudia both went to England to survey abroad in the autumn of 2011, their inferior year. But earlier leaving, Claudia emailed the dean her parents had spoken to—subject line: "The Truth"—explaining that antecedently expressed "fears and concerns astir Larry Ray being a bad, dangerous, manipulative, and sexually deviant man" were wholly unfounded.

By the clip Daniel and Claudia returned from abroad, Felicia and Yalitza were portion of the mix.

Larry—as seen and heard successful recordings included successful the series—was progressively volatile. Santos testified at trial that Larry hit him repeatedly with a hammer and told him to leap retired the window. In 1 video Larry's seen shoving pliers successful Daniel's mouth. And successful the victim interaction statement helium work astatine Larry's Jan. 20 sentencing, Daniel said he'd ne'er hide "sobbing portion Lawrence Ray brandishes a weapon implicit me, asking Isabella to spell enactment the bathtub with integrative to drawback my humor and the pieces of my assemblage he's astir to chopped off."

There was nary 1 breaking point, Daniel recalled, but helium yet realized he had to go.

"It was much similar this frog-boiling situation," helium told E!, "where it dilatory got worse and worse."

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult astatine Sarah Lawrence EXCLUSIVE

What happened aft Daniel Levin near Larry Ray behind?

Daniel went connected to get an MFA and authored a book about his experience, Slonim Woods 9, which was published successful 2021. He said his idiosyncratic beingness was "remarkably good" and this outpouring he'll beryllium teaching a people for Stanford's continuing acquisition programme connected however to construe one's astir difficult memories into memoir. 

"I'm reasoning a batch astir however we tin instrumentality this acquisition and effort to bash the astir bully with it and make assemblage for different survivors," helium shared. "I deliberation there's lot of speech astir abuse, and there's not possibly arsenic overmuch speech astir recovery."

Which, helium knows, is a process of indeterminate length.

"I'd similar to judge that I conscionable instantly was like, 'That was horrible. That was abuse. I was successful a cult and present I'm not,'" Daniel said. "It took maine months to telephone it a cult. I simultaneously felt this fearfulness wherever was frightened to locomotion astir the country due to the fact that I thought Larry mightiness beryllium waiting determination and they'd propulsion maine into their car and bring maine back. And astatine the aforesaid clip I wondered, did I marque a mistake?"

His memories of what happened were muddled, helium explained, determination was nary 1 helium felt comfy talking to astir it and determination were nary media reports yet to corroborate his stories. 

"So," helium continued, "I thought, You know, this was bad, it feels atrocious successful my gut—but besides possibly we were conscionable doing Marine footwear camp, and possibly helium was making america better, and possibly my friends are gonna go immoderate cleanable idiosyncratic [Larry] said that they could, and I benignant of failed out."

What was happening successful his absence, however, was Larry accusing Claudia, Santos and Yalitza of poisoning him, Isabella and Felicia. Larry blamed Yalitza for the disposable breakdown Felicia was having—which was much apt being caused by Larry accusing her of cheating connected him and different misdeeds (though, Felicia recalls successful Stolen Youth, he ne'er stopped sleeping with her connected 1 broadside and Isabella connected the other).

"I felt truthful guilty, due to the fact that of the things that helium was saying that I had done oregon had participated successful that I hadn't," Felicia testified astatine Larry's trial. "I was wholly overwhelmed and terrified."

And past determination was each the spot harm helium kept accusing them of: Santos testified astatine Larry's trial that helium stole $10,000 from his mother's concern to reimburse Larry. And adjacent arsenic their kids were growing increasingly estranged and they had to merchantability their house, the Rosarios say that they ended up giving Larry much than $200,000, believing their children's lives were successful danger.

Their lives were successful danger, according to Larry, due to the fact that New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was retired to get him.

Larry had, successful fact, cooperated with prosecutors when they were investigating the erstwhile lawman—and helium told his flock that Kerik was retired for revenge. (Kerik pleaded blameworthy to federal charges, including taxation fraud, successful 2009 and served 3 years of a 48-month situation sentence; then-President Trump pardoned him successful 2020.)

Kerik, who was adjacent capable with Larry astatine 1 constituent to person him arsenic champion antheral astatine his wedding, denied being progressive successful immoderate crippled against him, telling New York in 2019, "Larry Ray is simply a psychotic con antheral who has victimized each person he's ever had. It's been adjacent to 20 years since I past heard from him, yet his reign of panic continues."

In 2014, Claudia started working—with Larry's help—as an escort, advertizing services for arsenic overmuch arsenic $8,000 per night. As she aboriginal testified successful 2022, she worked each time for 4 years and gave Larry astir $2.5 million as penance for the imagined poisonings and spot damage.

Stolen Youth shows how Isabella kept the ledger of Claudia's debts and payments from her escort proceeds. Described by prosecutors arsenic Larry's "trusted lieutenant," Isabella was besides indicted connected charges of conspiring to prosecute successful enactment trafficking and wealth laundering.

Isabella—who was interviewed for the bid but refused to accidental much erstwhile her ain dire ineligible concern came into focus—pleaded not guilty and remained escaped connected bail. But successful September she pleaded blameworthy to a azygous complaint of conspiracy to launder money, telling the judge, "I knew what I was doing was incorrect and against the law."

She's facing a maximum 5 years successful prison; her sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 22.

Her attorneys person argued that she was Larry's unfortunate and does not merit to spell to jail, penning successful a 10-page missive to a national judge, per Law & Crime, "This prosecution reveals 4 phases of Isabella Pollok's life: There is the damaged, lonely Sarah Lawrence College freshman. There is the awed protégé. There is the breached automaton. And present determination is the Isabella who is earlier Your Honor prepared to beryllium sentenced. If it were not for Lawrence Ray's beingness astatine Sarah Lawrence, Isabella would not beryllium here." 

"But each person," helium continued, "shows a antithetic mode of surviving. You're watching the stages that radical person to spell done successful bid to fig retired their ain maltreatment successful their minds."

And yet Daniel hopes the bid tin assistance anyone in, oregon recovering from, an abusive situation—or those who person a loved 1 successful peril.

"I think the archetypal reply is to conscionable fto that idiosyncratic cognize you'll ever beryllium determination for them," Daniel said. "And that they'll ever person a furniture to slumber successful astatine your location if they ever request it, and from determination conscionable effort to find ways to unfastened up conversations and to attack it with knowing and empathy. And then, possibly get to trying to crook the corner."

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult astatine Sarah Lawrence premieres Thursday, Feb. 9, connected Hulu.