Father of NY university student accused of moving into dorm, preying on daughter’s buddies
BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — the daddy of a previous Sarah Lawrence university student allegedly extorted and abused a few pupils through the university that is prestigious forced one or more pupil into prostitution within the last ten years, federal prosecutors stated Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Lawrence Ray “exploited and abused young gents and ladies emotionally, actually and intimately for his or her own gain that is financial” ultimately extorting roughly $1 million from five victims, stated Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney when it comes to Southern District of brand new York.
Ray, 60, ended up being charged in a indictment with extortion, intercourse trafficking, forced labor trafficking, cash laundering, and much more.
Prosecutors stated the research ended up being prompted by the April 2019 mag article, a reference that is apparent a write-up en titled “The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence, ” published on nyc magazine’s The Cut. The personal liberal arts university has about 1,700 pupils and it is positioned in Yonkers, ny.
Ray allegedly ensnared several of their victims as they had been teens, Berman stated, and their so-called victims that are initial their daughter’s college roommates.
He relocated into on-campus housing along with his child along with her roommates during their sophomore year in belated 2010 and began “therapy” sessions with a few roommates by which he provided himself as a daddy figure whom could re solve their mental issues, the indictment reported.
The indictment said in summer 2011, several of the roommates lived with Ray at his Manhattan apartment, where he worked to gain their trust and alienate them from their parents.
Berman stated Ray allegedly utilized “physical, psychological, and intimate punishment” to produce their victims confess to wrongdoing that is invented.
Then he allegedly compelled them to create significant re payments to him and directed them to have cash for him by draining their parents’ savings, starting lines of credit, soliciting efforts from acquaintances, attempting to sell property ownership, and doing forced work as well as prostitution, Berman stated.
“Over nearly 10 years, Ray coerced and extorted almost $1 million in re re payments from five victims that are different” Berman stated.
In one single specific instance, he presumably utilized fear, physical physical violence, and coercion to force one target to take part in commercial intercourse functions to settle debts she didn’t really owe, Berman stated. That target presumably had been forced to act as a prostitute for over four years, and Ray presumably built-up significantly more than $500,000 from her, Berman stated.
Berman stated Ray allegedly “sexually groomed” that target beginning when she ended up being an university student, gathering intimately explicit pictures along with other information that is personal he then utilized to coerce her into doing commercial sex acts.
He also utilized physical violence. In a single example, he tied the lady up to a seat, put a case over her mind, and almost suffocated her, prosecutors stated.
The indictment said in 2013, Ray forced some of the victims to do manual labor at a family member’s home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, to pay off these fictional debts.
Whenever Ray had been arrested Tuesday early early morning in Piscataway, nj-new jersey, one of is own daughter’s roommates and another victim that is female within the residence, Berman stated.
Ray had a court that is initial Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan. Their arraignment ended up being scheduled for afternoon wednesday. CNN reached off to Ray’s general public defender for remark.
Sarah Lawrence university spokeswoman Patricia Pasquale confirmed that Ray ended up being the parent of the student that is former.
“The costs within the indictment are severe, wide-ranging, unsettling, and upsetting. As always, the security and wellbeing of y our pupils and alumni is just a concern for the university, ” Pasquale stated. “In April 2019, ny Magazine published a selection of accusations concerning this previous moms and dad. During those times, the faculty undertook an inside research about the certain tasks alleged in this article to own taken place on our campus last year; the research would not substantiate those certain claims. ”
The indictment failed to information which, if any, regarding the so-called unlawful task happened on campus.
Pasquale said the school was not contacted because of the Southern District of brand new York but would cooperate within the investigation.