There were moments over the years when you could have walked away or at least shown some mercy, Liman said to Pollok. She is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2023. Larry Ray arrived in a federal courtroom Tuesday wearing the standard khaki shirt and pants issued to inmates awaiting trial. She had faced a possible maximum of five years in prison, according to a plea agreement. "Ray groomed Isabella, at first by listening and paying attention to her," Polloks attorneys wrote. There is the awed protg. During this time Ray began a relationship with both Pollok and Felicia Rosariothe sister of two of Ray's victims, Santos and Yalitza Rosario. Ray, who was sentenced to 60 years in prison in January, was introduced to his victims after moving into his daughters on-campus dorm at Sarah Lawrence College in 2010. I am truly sorry.. She had knowingly disguised illegal sex trafficking proceeds of $2.5m after Ray had forced former student Claudia Durey into prostitution, the court heard. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Ultimately, Liman made clear that part of his mandate was to send a message of deterrence, no matter how unlikely it is that anyone will ever repeat Rays criminal enterprise. Unfortunately, Cynthia said that her effort to bring Isabella home was unsuccessful after Ray threatened to call the police and accused Cynthia of trespassing while chasing her away. Pollok, who says that she felt like an outsider even in her own family growing up, struggles to make connections on campus until she meets Ray. Who is Isabella Pollok? Now that Rays fate has been sealed by the justice system, folks are wondering what consequences Isabella will also face. : Who are Sally McNeils kids John and Shantina in Killer Sally documentary? It has been said that she could face up to five years in jail as well as a fine of $250,000. Even the government had once described Pollok as a victim. Judge Liman sharply questioned Polloks attorney David B. Bertan, who argued that Pollok was also Rays victim. The Government does not dispute that the defendant also suffered at Rays hands, federal prosecutors wrote in the submission. She questioned how Sarah Lawrence College allowed Ray to sleep inside the dorm to begin with, allowing the cult to take root on campus. And a linguist named Emily M. Bender is very worried what will happen when we forget this. Ray was arrested in February 2020 and in April 2022, following a four-week trial, he was convicted on several counts including sex trafficking, extortion and forced labor. She admitted to her role in helping Ray to sexually traffic victim Claudia Drury - who was also Pollok's former roommate - and laundering millions of dollars she earned in the process, according to Yahoo. Isabella Pollok, a former Sarah Lawrence College student who fell under the influence of sex cult leader Larry Ray was sentenced to more than four years in prison Wednesday for conspiring with the fiend as he carried out the abuse of a group of young people. Prosecutors had previously painted Pollok as someone who held a "privileged position within the Ray Family, acting as Ray's lieutenant, with respect to his extortionate demands for financial payments, physical labor, and prostitution, and in laundering the criminal proceeds of extortion and sex trafficking through bank accounts and GoDaddy," per sentencing documentscited by PEOPLE. Rosario testified Monday that near the end of his five years with the group, Ray ordered his alleged "lieutenant," Isabella Pollok, to punish Rosario and his sister Feliciawho had also been lured into the groupto wear diapers around Ray's Upper East Side apartment. Prosecutors had previously painted Pollok as someone who held a "privileged position within the Ray Family, acting as Ray's lieutenant, with respect to his extortionate demands for financial payments, physical labor, and prostitution, and in laundering the criminal proceeds of extortion and sex trafficking through bank accounts and GoDaddy," per. This password will be used to sign into all, 6 Stand-ups Analyze ChatGPTs Attempts to Steal Their Jobs. Isabella Pollok was accused of conspiring with Larry Ray. Isabella Pollok, 'Trusted Lieutenant' in Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult, Sentenced to 4.5 Years in Prison The fellow victim of Larry Ray's psychotic cult, who helped him abused other students, will serve . Born Lawrence Grecco, the former US Air Force troop moved into his daughter, Talias, college dorm in 2010. And that its not fucking fair, she said in Stolen Youth. Emailus. Isabella had no identity when she met Ray, said David Bertan, one of Polloks attorneys no counter, no defenses for his manipulation. It wasnt long before Ray was sleeping with Pollok most nights. Last month, a federal judge sentenced Ray to 60 years in prison for psychologically, sexually, and physically abusing this young cohort of devotees he met after moving into his daughters dorm at Sarah Lawrence College. [emailprotected], Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. : Spooky Friday 13 true crime stories thatll keep you up at night. His decision a sentence of just over four years was only slightly less than the five years prosecutors had requested. All had come to see Larry Ray as a man whose advice they trusted with personal difficulties and insecurities. He began having "therapy" sessions with individuals in order to learn intimate details about them. As of February 2023, she hasn't been sentenced, but she did write a letter to the judge in which she stated that she, too, is a victim of conman Larry Ray. Its imperative to note that the once-aspiring child psychologist actually continued to support Larry even after his arrest, and she has made no statements since regarding wheather or not her opinions of him have changed. George Santoss Nasty Twitter Battle With Fellow New York Republicans. The president surprised and angered some Democrats by declining to veto a GOP effort to block a D.C. bill. Here is everything that viewers need to know about Pollok and where she is now. Isabella Pollok has been charged with racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy and money laundering after prosecutors said she conspired with Lawrence Ray, the father of her one-time college roommate to psychologically manipulate and control victims, according to a grand jury indictment obtained by Oxygen.com from Like most parents, Cynthia Pollok is standing by her daughters side through her current legal struggles. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to Isabella Pollok, 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. For Americas wage laborers, a 32-hour workweek is less of a beautiful dream than an oppressive reality. The Key Moments From Alex Murdaughs Testimony and Murder Trial. It was back in the fall of 2010 when 19-year-old Isabella first came across 50-year-old Larry as her best friend and roommate Talia Ray's father, only for their bond to soon evolve into much more. I already bought the tickets a month ago, and they sprang this on me yesterday, Cynthia told the outlet. I badly hurt my friends and I am ashamed, Pollok said. The Californians have been booted from Frogmore Cottage because the king (or the character invented by the U.K. press) has had enough of their abuse. At Sarah Lawrence in 2010, Pollok, then a 19-year-old sophomore, met Larry Ray, her housemate's 50-year-old father. . I pled guilty because I am guilty. He was also said to have extorted money from their families and made some of them take part in forced labor and prostitution. Thanks for contacting us. She had faced a possible maximum of five years in prison, according to a plea agreement. At the time her seven housemates, including Pollok, didn't see the arrangement as an issuebut things took a dark turn. The former Sarah Lawrence College student pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy in September. She shared that Ray's house gave the appearance of hoarders with crap all over the place.. Legal documents show that Larry Ray, daughter Talia, Isabella and others were still living together in 2017. A co-conspirator of cult sex trafficker Larry Ray has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. Defense attorney David Bertan reiterated that argument Wednesday, telling the judge that Pollok does not deny her culpability, but that she committed her crimes because of Ray. The in-depth look at the shocking sex cult has gripped viewers. Victim and accomplice. . I will live with the guilt forever I am ashamed. "They were there or a woman Ray had "forced into a life of prostitution," she says. At the sentencing Wednesday, Assistant US Attorney Lindsey Keenan said Pollok acted with initiative and out of her own volition while aiding Ray. You were not the leader of the Ray enterprise, Liman continued, noting that she was a young adult at the times but by no means innocent.. According to investigators, Ray had enlisted Pollok to join the criminal scheme and to work on behalf of the [e]nterprise, investigators wrote in court documents. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Have something to tell us about this article? She followed a friend with a camcorder to record her having sex with strangers so that Ray could one day use the videos as collateral. Previously a reporter for Courthouse News, he has appeared as a guest on NewsNation, NBC, MSNBC, CBS's "Inside Edition," BBC, NPR, PBS, Sky News, and other networks. Attorneys for Pollok urged Liman to impose a non-prison sentence, arguing she was groomed and tortured by Ray during her time under his control. They complied. She said: "I'm 19, I was having a lot of difficulty making sense of things, I wasn't in a good place. Claudia Drury, whom Ray coerced into prostitution, a federal judge sentenced Ray to 60 years in prison, the sense of clear moral victory felt after Rays sentence was announced, who read our 2019 cover story, or followed coverage of Rays trial, the new Hulu documentary in which Pollok participated, Felicia and Yalitza Rosario, two of Rays victims, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Ray coerced his acolytes into falsely confessing these crimes, which he compulsively recorded in audio and video tapes, evidence showed. Drury questioned her self-image. King Charles Evicts Harry and Meghan From House They Dont Live In. Will others follow? Offers may be subject to change without notice. The city threw out a Democratic mayor for the first time in decades. Pollok, 31, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering, avoiding a trial. Felicia Rosario, Former Sarah Lawrence Sex-Cult Member, Has Taken Her Life Back. Nearby, Felicia and Yalitza Rosario, two of Rays victims, watched quietly. "I know this request comes late. She told the judge that "as part of the conspiracy, she took part in financial transactions 'generated by illegal activity' in the hopes of hiding the source and ownership of the cash," the Post writes. These acts were committed because she was brainwashed by Ray, he said. Ms. He began to counsel Isabella Pollok, Talia's best friend and, now, a co-defendant in the case. We've received your submission. I will live with the guilt forever. Drury testified that she made $2.5 million through four years of coerced sex work and gave all of her earnings to Ray. Liman, an even-keeled force throughout Rays trial, acknowledged the control Ray exercised over Pollok, but he never lost sight of the fact that she was a key instrument of Rays manipulation. I trusted Lawrence more than I trusted myself and in doing so, I betrayed my own sense of right and wrong, she wrote. A former Sarah Lawrence sex cult member who prosecutors say fell under the spell of mastermind Larry Ray has been sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison. On that evening, Pollok had been recording Ray as he stripped Drury naked, tied her to a chair, doused her with water and tried suffocating her with a plastic bag. With the help and love of others I have freed myself from the past. She later added: "I know I committed serious crimes and I fully accept responsibility for my actions. Intro- Robert. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Interestingly, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mollie Bracewell told the judge that, had the case gone to trial, prosecutors were prepared to introduce slew of evidence against Isabella ranging from financial ledgers to witness testimony. Claudia Drury described how Larry Ray manipulated and tortured her, and led her to prostitution in the Sarah Lawrence sex-cult case. Most importantly, though, per the federal prosecutors, she helped Larry channel $2.5 million from her once-roommate and friend. Evidence at the trial established that Ray took control of a set of his daughter Talia's college friends after moving into their campus housing in 2010. After his arrest, she wavers little if at all. The sadistic fiend forced one woman, Claudia Drury, into prostitution and collected some $2.5 million from her over four years. When Larry Ray first came into the lives of his daughter Talia's college friends in 2010 he presented himself as a confidant, someone who could be trusted . A former Sarah Lawrence College student who fell under the control of convicted predator Larry Ray admitted on Wednesday to conspiring to launder money made from his sex-trafficking scheme. Shed initially pleaded not guilty. Court documents showed that one student, Claudia Drury, was forced by Ray into prostitution to "pay damages to [him] that she did not actually owe." His co-counsel Jill R. Shellow struck a similar note. During a press conference, the mayor said his words about not believing in the separation of church and state were just his own beliefs. Her attorneys described something akin to deprogramming. Im now asking for a second chance.. Ray later began having "interrogation" sessions with the students, manipulating them into making false confessions such as trying to poison him. I deeply regret it. There is no question that I wanted to make my family suffer for the way they made me suffer and the only way I believed I could do it was to commit suicide back in Texas during Christmas break.. Cynthia shared that she showed up at Rays Piscataway, N.J., residence (where the two were living at the time) in 2019 to bring Isabella home. I do not believe she had a choice in who she became in the hands of Larry Ray, Drury wrote in a letter, urging lenience and mercy for her former friend. [emailprotected], Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. [Larry's] hold over me changed who I was and it continues to be a healing process. She sounded a similar note to U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, who will sentence her on Feb. 22. After all, shed not just lived with Larry in several areas around New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina but had also assisted him in his schemes of sexual and psychological abuse. Santos recalls how reclusive Pollok, reeling from a breakup, seemed "vibrant . Documents obtained by Law And Crime claim that Pollock was indicted in Rays case around January 2021 on charges of knowingly committing extortion together through wrongful use of actual and threatened force, violence, and fear.. It's reported that Larry, Isabella and another woman named Felicia Rosario are. Lawrence convinced me that Claudia, Santos, Yali, Felicia and Dan poisoned me and were constantly trying to hurt me, just as he convinced them that they were doing these things.. As originals that live up to their title from every conceivable angle, Peacocks Sex, Lies, and the College Cult and Hulus Stolen Youth can only be described as equal parts haunting as well as riveting. Isabella Pollok, and Claudia Drury. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, who fell under the control of convicted predator Larry Ray, Sarah Lawrence sex cult leader Larry Rays top lieutenant sentenced to 54 months, Sarah Lawrence sex cult leader sentenced to 60 years in prison, Sarah Lawrence sex cult fiend to face sentencing today, Jury finds Larry Ray guilty on all counts in Sarah Lawrence sex cult trial. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. I am not the same person who met [Larry] Ray over 10 years ago. A co-conspirator of "cult" sex trafficker Larry Ray has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Isabellas lack of cooperation with the FBI when the case originally came to light in 2019 is ostensibly the facet that drove them to suspect wrongdoing on her part, yet she wasnt indicted until 2021. As the world is beginning to learn about the ins and outs of convicted felon Lawrence Larry Rays sex cult via Hulus Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence, questions continue to arise. I believed and supported someone who controlled me in ways I could not understand, Pollok tearfully said, struggling to get the words out. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to Isabella Pollok, 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. Isabella Pollock has been reported to be Ray's "lieutenant" during his crimes. But she was no less a victim.. All rights reserved. Isabella Pollok's stand has come days before she will be sentenced on February 22 after she pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy. And while Isabella has taken some responsibility for her role concerning the sex cult, Cynthia believes that all the fault lies with Ray. The truth is she is a victim, albeit in a slightly different way, Bertan said. Referring to the governments proposed five-year sentence, he added: To me, that sentence is vengeance, not justice.. Ray had pulled Polloks hair, hit her, and locked her outside in the cold of winter. A federal judge has found sufficient evidence to name Sarah Lawrence 'cult leader' Larry Ray's daughter, Talia, as a co-conspirator along with his so-called lieutenant and co-accused Isabella . In case you've been out of the loop, Isabella pleaded guilty on Sept. 5, 2022, to one count of conspiracy of laundering money, in connection to Ray's crimes of extortion, money laundering, sex trafficking, and more. Short of murder, there is nothing she could do to dissuade me from loving her.". This case is a parents worst nightmare, Shellow added. Isabella Pollok and Larry Ray (Photos via DOJ). That sentence must clearly state that crime does not pay, the judge said. She did what Ray conditioned her to do, Shellow said. In March 2021, Pollok was charged with racketeering, extortion and sex trafficking conspiracies, to which she pleaded not guilty at the time. Pollok told Judge Lewis Liman that as part of the conspiracy, she took part in financial transactions generated by illegal activity in the hopes of hiding the source and ownership of the cash. In Tennessee, Even Abortion to Save a Womans Life May Be Illegal. With the help and love of others I have freed myself from the past. I am truly sorry, she said as her voice broke and she sobbed. That night, at the Gregory Hotel in Manhattan in October 2018, Ray ordered Drury to strip naked, tied her to a chair, put a bag over her head, choked her with a leash, smothered her with a pillow, and poured water over her, according to her testimony. Vish Burra, the congressmans director of operations, met me on Staten Island to explain the plan to make Santos president? Ray was ultimately convicted and sentenced in January to 60 years behind bars on a number of charges including extortion, sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Ray referred to Felicia Rosario as his "wife," though they were never married. The outlet shares that Isabella will remain free until her sentencing date on Feb. 22, 2023. Totally his fault., Isabella Pollok leaving a NYC courthouse with her attorney. Right-wing board to clamp down on woke ideology in cartoons. She had the opportunity to leave at any time, but chose to live an inflated lifestyle supported by the sex work that she and Larry Ray forced on Claudia Drury.. He lured them off campus to a New York City apartment and collected those supposed debts through physical violence, psychological abuse and sexual exploitation for roughly a decade. The 30-year-old was indicted by federal. In the recording, the listener can hear Ray instruct Pollok to hand her that bag. At his trial, numerous victims testified that Pollok acted as Rays top lieutenant, including Drury, who told jurors that the pair tortured her in a hotel room for hours after Ray became enraged at her. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Moreover, according to the last reports (2020), Talia was a paralegal at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham a post she could still hold today. I'm now asking for a second chance.". If Lawrence were here in front of me right now, I would tell him how sorry I am that hes going through this and that hes being put through this. Story . In 2010, Ray allegedly recruited Pollok to help operate a campus sex cult after moving into his daughters dormitory at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes involving his daughter and friends. According to prosecutors, Polloks phone contained folders for each of Rays victims containing compromising material that could be used against them if they strayed from Ray. An adult woman, yes, but an adult woman without the ability to think for herself, she said. The state has a near-total abortion ban, and now activists and GOP officials are fighting an exemption for physician-defined medical emergencies. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to. Larry Ray has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for using manipulation to extort millions from his victims. Pollok wrote: "I trusted Lawrence more than I trusted myself and in doing so, I betrayed my own sense of right and wrong.".