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The Truth Behind Our Obsession With True Crime Stories
There's truthful overmuch much to Larry Ray than meets the eye.
The convicted conman who authorities said "acted similar a cult leader" according to The New York Times is astatine the halfway of Peacock's Sex Lies and the College Cult. Per the streamer, the existent transgression documentary tells the communicative of however Larry "brainwashed students of Sarah Lawrence College into an abusive enactment cult that upended their lives and the lives of their families."
Many archetypal learned of said story successful 2019 erstwhile New York Magazine published an article titled "The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence," a diagnostic recounting however Larry moved into his girl Talia's dorm country astatine the New York-based assemblage and began sexually and psychologically abusing a radical of her chap students.
Sex, Lies and the College Cult goes heavy into Larry's scheme, revealing caller details astir his clip with the erstwhile students and what came aft the work of Ezra Marcus and James D. Walsh's NY Mag piece. This includes Larry's arrest in Feb. 2020, when helium was charged with sex trafficking, wealth laundering and respective different offenses, arsenic good arsenic his April 2022 conviction: guilty connected each counts.
Told successful immoderate of the victims' ain words, there's nary shortage of shocking revelations made successful Sex, Lies and the College Cult. Read connected for the astir surprising.
Friends successful High Places
Larry had connections with respective notable figures, including former New York City police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. He participated successful the documentary and made respective revelations, including that Larry once brokered an introduction betwixt erstwhile President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, and then-NYC politician Rudy Giuliani.
Larry and Kerik's friendship was short-lived, though. Despite serving arsenic the champion antheral astatine Kerik's wedding, Larry—still years distant from being arrested himself—went connected to go a national informant whose accusation helped pb to Kerik's arrest. Kerik plead blameworthy to 8 national felony charges successful 2009 and was sentenced to 4 years successful prison; however, he received a afloat pardon from erstwhile President Donald Trump successful 2020.
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Putting Everything connected the Record
Larry was perpetually filming himself and the young adults who lived with him (which, overtime, would travel to see daughter Talia Ray, Isabella Pollok, Daniel Levin, Claudia Drury, Iban Goicoechea and siblings Santos, Felicia and Yalitza Rosario). Home videos featured successful the documentary showed him carrying retired carnal torture, coercing mendacious confessions from the young adults that they had caused him harm and more. The details of these offenses and others are laid retired successful Larry's indictment.
Intense Blackmail
Larry made definite that should immoderate of the students halt complying with his demands, he'd beryllium capable to endanger them with the tapes helium recorded of them—namely, those with mendacious confessions. In 1 specified video shown successful the documentary and mentioned successful the indictment, Larry pressed Claudia to wrongly claim she had poisoned him.
A Years-Long Legal Battle
Then friends with Larry—who was acceptable to relocate from his daughter's dorm country astatine Sarah Lawrence—Lee Chen said successful Sex, Lies and the College Cult that helium allowed Larry to enactment successful his Manhattan apartment, since he often traveled for work. It didn't instrumentality agelong for Larry to wholly instrumentality implicit the place, stationing himself successful Chen's chamber and having the galore students who lived with him effort to renovate (and yet damage) the apartment.
But erstwhile Chen said helium gave Larry a 10-day announcement to leave, Larry simply changed the locks and ignored him. It yet took six years—three of which were spent conscionable trying to get a judgement—for authorities to really evict Larry.
Cruelty Beyond Measure
As Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman put it successful a 2020 property conference, Larry "exploited and abused" the students "emotionally, physically and sexually for his ain fiscal gain."
While testifying—as shown successful the documentary—Claudia recalled Larry approaching her and abruptly grabbing himself portion talking astir orgasms. He past suggested Claudia and Daniel person enactment close there, and arsenic Claudia revealed, "When helium left, we did. Iban was adjacent to us."
The mode Marcus saw it, "I deliberation a batch of it for Larry it was astir utilizing enactment arsenic benignant of a instrumentality to destabilize them, marque them uncomfortable. It was a tactic."
Daniel was certainly taxable to this tactic, particularly aft telling Larry helium was struggling with his sexuality. During 1 peculiarly cruel exercise, arsenic Claudia testified, Larry made Daniel basal successful beforehand of the radical successful a dress. What came next, explained Marcus, was that "Larry asked Isabella to bring retired a enactment artifact and past told Daniel to effort and enactment that into himself successful beforehand of the full group. They each stood astir making amusive of him for this."
Self-Inflicted Torture
Larry had the students torture themselves in different ways. Santos, for example, could be seen successful 1 video shown successful the documentary (which was besides introduced during Larry's trial) slapping himself successful the look implicit and implicit again for an full hour.
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The Rosario Siblings
Larry managed to enlistee three people from the aforesaid household to come unrecorded with him nether the guise of bettering their lives and helping them scope their afloat potential. Santos was the first, and then Larry acceptable his sights connected Felicia, a Harvard postgraduate doing her aesculapian residency successful California. Over the people of respective months and galore telephone calls, Larry and Felicia became romantically progressive and arsenic she aboriginal testified during his trial, helium often asked her to bash things she did not privation to do, similar person enactment with different people, movie it and nonstop the footage to him.
Wanting Felicia to articulation him successful New York, Larry aboriginal told her that his relation arsenic an informant enactment everyone who helium cared astir successful danger. According to Sex, Lies and the College Cult—and Felicia herself, arsenic Marcus interviewed her for the infamous NY Mag story—Felicia became highly paranoid and yet complied, leaving her aesculapian residency behind. Yalitza was subsequently coerced into moving successful with Larry.
The Move to North Carolina
Taking his strategy to the adjacent level, Larry relocated respective of the young adults to North Carolina wherever they worked hours upon hours trying to reconstruct a decrepit house. That was, until Larry accused them of damaging his machinery and subsequently owing him hundreds of thousands of dollars, prosecutors stated successful court. Unable to wage Larry back, the students turned to their household and friends, telling them they had done thing incorrect and desperately needed help.
"They'd go nett centers," former FBI peculiar cause Frank Figliuzzi said. "He has them drain the slope accounts of their parents—in immoderate cases, their beingness savings due to the fact that they convinced their parents, 'I person done this benignant of damage, I beryllium this feline this benignant of money, I'm successful large trouble.'"
Claudia's Forced Sex Work
Not everybody's parents were capable to assistance them alleviate their imaginary debt, though. This rang existent for Claudia. As she testified successful court, she turned to enactment enactment aft Larry convinced her that was the lone mode she could wage him back. For 4 years straight, Claudia saw up to 5 clients a day—and each of the wealth went to Larry. Isabella, meanwhile, was the "bookkeeper for Claudia's prostitution," Figliuzzi said. Prosecutors would aboriginal picture her arsenic Larry’s "trusted lieutenant,” and she was indicted alongside him successful 2021.
Theorizing astir Isabella's involvement, cult adept Dr. Janja Lalich said successful the documentary, "Everyone successful a cult to immoderate grade becomes a perpetrator. In Isabella's case, she benignant of go the close manus idiosyncratic to Larry."
Candy Stars Talk People's Obsession With True Crime
A Great Escape
Fed up with Larry's abuse, Claudia confided successful 1 of her clients in hopes that she'd yet beryllium capable to get distant from him. Unfortunately, Larry recovered retired she had talked, truthful helium and Isabella "tortured her implicit the people of a horrific nighttime of abuse," Marcus said.
Claudia, according to Washington Post reporter Shayna Jacobs—who reported connected Larry's proceedings and was interviewed for the documentary—was "repeatedly suffocated her with a integrative bag. It was relentless and it was achy and it was terrifying."
She wasn't acceptable to springiness up, though. Later, Claudia erstwhile again asked a lawsuit for help, and this time, helium was capable to safely get her retired of the city, she testified. This, Jacobs said, was "the opening of the end" for Larry.
An Attempted Rescue
The infamous New York Magazine nonfiction detailing Larry's maltreatment was published successful April 2019. Once Isabella and Felicia's families—more specifically, Isabella's ma Cindy and aunt Liz, arsenic good arsenic Felicia's ma Maritza—learned what had been happening, they said they traveled to Larry's latest residence successful New Jersey with plans to retrieve them.
However, according to the documentary and the women's interview with New York Magazine, the girls refused, all portion Larry seemingly hid successful the backmost of the location until the household members left.
A Tragic End for Iban
Iban began seeking assistance from Larry during a peculiarly susceptible play successful his life as helium was struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder aft serving overseas. According to his chap Marine John Williams, Iban soon became highly paranoid due to the fact that of "the thoughts Larry enactment successful his caput that idiosyncratic was ever retired to get him."
By the clip John persuaded Iban to travel enactment with him successful Oregon, helium had "no passionateness for anything" and determination was "nothing helium wanted to do." Tragically, according to John, Iban died by termination soon aft Larry's arrest, thing that John attributes to Iban being truthful devoted to Larry. He added, "I perfectly blasted Larry 100 percent for Iban's death."
Per the documentary and tribunal testimony, Felicia and Yalitza both attempted suicide during their clip with the radical arsenic well.
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Isabella Gets Her Day successful Court
Isabella was Isabella was charged with conspiring to prosecute successful enactment trafficking, wealth laundering and much successful 2021. The pursuing year, she pleaded blameworthy to conspiracy to launder wealth arsenic portion of a plea statement and faces a maximum of 5 years successful situation astatine her Feb. 2023 sentencing. Prosecutors specified that the amerciable activities supporting her plea were enactment trafficking and extortion—something that a U.S. District Judge asked her to admit during a hearing. She did, besides stating, "I cognize that what I was doing was incorrect and against the law."
A Convenient Medical Emergency
When Larry yet stood trial, Claudia decided to attest against him. But during her testimony, Larry appeared to endure from immoderate benignant of seizure and was carried retired connected a stretcher. The mode Kerik saw it, helium was "trying to power the jury" and "trying to make this aforesaid pity thing."
If that was the case, it didn't work. He was recovered blameworthy of 15 counts and faces up to 120 years successful prison.
Sex, Lies and the College Cult is present streaming connected Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are some portion of the NBCUniversal family.)
Peacock is unrecorded now! Check retired NBCU's streaming work here.
