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'Must be incapacitated': Feds seek life sentence for 'sadistic' sex trafficker Lawrence 'Larry' Ray

Lawrence Ray's daughter had invited him to her communal dorm, where he got in touch with several of her roommates
PUBLISHED JAN 16, 2023
Lawrence Ray is found guilty in multiple crimes related to sex trafficking, money laundering, forced labor, etc (New York Police Department)
Lawrence Ray is found guilty in multiple crimes related to sex trafficking, money laundering, forced labor, etc (New York Police Department)

Disclaimer: If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Lawrence ‘Larry’ Ray, a convicted sex trafficker will be sentenced on Friday, January 20, and federal prosecutors are pushing to make sure he never gets out of prison. Assistant US Attorney Mollie Bracewell wants the guilty to be severely punished for his ‘heinous’ crimes, where he victimized his daughter’s friends at Sarah Lawrence College, among others.

“Over a period of years, he intentionally inflicted brutal and lifelong harm on innocent victims that he groomed and abused into submission," she wrote in her 17-page sentencing memo. “Once he had established control over his victims, he exploited them for his own profit through extortion, sex trafficking, and forced labor.” 

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As per prosecutors, Ray owes over $5.5 million in restitution, over $761,000 in unpaid federal taxes, and other financial penalties. He had been just out of jail on unrelated charges related to child custody right, for Talia Ray, when he first encroached on the lives of his victims in 2010. His daughter had invited him to her communal dorm, where he got in touch with several of her roommates. It included Daniel Levin, Isabella Pollok, Claudia Drury, and Santos Rosario, among others.

Apparently, the two other girls, who weren’t from Sarah Lawrence, but got into Ray’s circle were Rosario’s sisters Felecia Rosario and Yalitza Rosario. They all testified against him at a trial last year, where almost all his victims shared that he first earned their trust through trickery, and then exploited them emotionally, physically, and sexually.

Ray made them believe and falsely recorded their confession for poisoning him, conspiring against his family, and damaging his property. However, it all backfired in long run, as the recordings, both audio and video, emails, and other documents were used against him. A federal jury didn’t take long to hold him guilty of all 15 charges, comprising extortion, racketeering, sex trafficking, forced labor, tax evasion, and money laundering, as per Law&Crime. The memo filed in the court further states, “While the defendant’s victims descended into self-hatred, self-harm, and suicidal attempts under his coercive control, the evidence showed that the defendant took sadistic pleasure in their pain and enjoyed the fruits of their suffering.”

As his victims went through immense pain under his strict control, Ray in an interview with New York Magazine said that he believed that at least 12 suicide attempts were made within the group, with one young man, Iban Goicoechea, killing himself. 

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