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Man found guilty of sex trafficking, extortion of daughter's Sarah Lawrence schoolmates

“Let me be very clear. Larry Ray is a predator. An evil man who did evil things," the prosecutor said.
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A New York man was convicted Wednesday on charges that he moved into his daughter's dorm room at Sarah Lawrence College and abused students at the elite school in a nearly 10-year scheme.

Lawrence Ray, 62, was found guilty of extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, money laundering and other charges.

Ray stood with his arms at his sides and faced the Manhattan jury as it returned guilty verdicts on all 15 counts, NBC New York reported.

An indictment alleged that he targeted students after he moved into his daughter’s on-campus dormitory with her roommates around 2010, when they were sophomores.

Prosecutors said Ray, presenting himself as a father figure, began “therapy” sessions with some of the students, purportedly to help them deal with their psychological problems.

Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y.
Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y.Stephanie Keith / Getty Images file

One woman testified that she became a sex worker to try to pay reparations to Ray after she became convinced that she had poisoned him. She said she gave Ray $2.5 million over four years in installments that averaged $10,000 to $50,000 a week.

Several of the students testified that they were drawn into Ray’s world as he told them stories of his past influence in New York City politics, including his role in ruining the career of former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik after having been the best man at his wedding years earlier.

Ray had, in fact, been a figure in the corruption investigation that derailed Kerik’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Some of the students agreed to live with Ray in the summer of 2011 at his one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, where his sinister side emerged as he started to claim that they had poisoned and otherwise harmed him.

To make amends, they testified, they did what he asked, including turning over money. One man said he gave Ray over $100,000.

The U.S. attorney for Southern New York, Damian Williams, said Ray "terrorized" and "tortured" the group.

"Let me be very clear. Larry Ray is a predator. An evil man who did evil things. Today’s verdict finally brings him to justice," Williams said in a statement.

Sentencing, at which he faces life in prison, is set for Sept. 16.

After the guilty verdict was read Wednesday, Ray was returned to custody, where he has been since he was arrested in 2020.