Sarah Lawrence College student, Isabella Pollok, admitted to collaborating with convicted criminal Larry Ray during his 10 years of heinous crimes, so what sentence does she face now? His techniques, well established tools of coercive control, easily bonded Isabella to him. And now there is the Isabella who is before Your Honor prepared to be sentenced. His co-counsel Jill R. Shellow struck a similar note. This case is being handled by the Office's Violent and Organized Crime Unit. 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. You had a choice here., I badly hurt my friends and I am ashamed and deeply regret it, Pollok said in a brief, tearful statement to the court. Ray then became her lover and convinced her of the need to explore her sexuality, the defense attorneys wrote. "Witness interviews and evidence recovered during the investigation show parallels between the defendant's experience and that of the victims in this case.". Talia was good to me, I trusted her and her trust in him was enough, her letter states. Police initially treated Isabella Pollok as one of Ray's victims. He began having "therapy" sessions with individuals in order to learn intimate details about them. She did not comment as she left court Wednesday. Topic (s): Violent Crime Human Trafficking Component (s): Despite the hype about Ron DeSantis surging past Donald Trump, both Republicans look unusually strong at this early stage of the presidential race. She questioned how Sarah Lawrence College allowed Ray to sleep inside the dorm to begin with, allowing the cult to take root on campus. King Charles Evicts Harry and Meghan From House They Dont Live In. During her trial, Isabelle admitted to prosecutors that Talia and Ray had become her lifeline at Sarah Lawrence after Polloks tough childhood in Texas. I believed and supported someone who controlled me in ways I could not understand, Pollok tearfully said, struggling to get the words out. The outlet shares that Isabella will remain free until her sentencing date on Feb. 22, 2023. Executive Producers Of Peacocks Sex, Lies And The College Cult On Sarah Lawrence Cult Leader Larry Ray, A co-conspirator of cult sex trafficker. But she was no less a victim.. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. I will live with the guilt forever, she said. 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. After his arrest, she wavers little if at all. Isabell Pollok, 31, pleaded guilty in September to a single count of participating in a money laundering scheme by forcing one of his victims into prostitution. All rights reserved. Culture Interview True Crime TV Hulu. City to Pay Millions to Protesters Kettled by NYPD in 2020. Totally his fault., Isabella Pollok leaving a NYC courthouse with her attorney. 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. Pollok later confessed to assisting Ray in trafficking her one-time friend and roommate, Claudia Drury, as well as laundering millions of dollars of illegal income. Pollok was half Rays age when they met at Sarah Lawrence. Ray, who was sentenced to 60 years in prisonfor sex trafficking and racketeering in January, manipulated the students into believing he was a guru and convinced them that they had to repay him for committing crimes against him. I will live with the guilt forever. She was barely a teenager when she met him. Isabella Pollok, the former best friend of daughter Talia Ray, was a young student when Larry Ray started living in her communal dorm Slonim Woods 9 and sleeping in her room. Like most parents, Cynthia Pollok is standing by her daughters side through her current legal struggles. She did what Ray conditioned her to do, Shellow said. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. "They were there or a woman Ray had "forced into a life of prostitution," she says. 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. By Dorian Geiger He used violence, psychological abuse and sexual coercion to control several students over a decade-long period. Terms of Service apply. 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At first, what Larry Ray gave the Slonim 9 . Seeking a judges mercy, Polloks lawyers told a federal judge that she has now broken free from Rays cult and she now views her time spent under his thrall as the existence of a broken automaton., This prosecution reveals four phases of Isabella Polloks life: There is the damaged, lonely Sarah Lawrence College freshman, her attorneysDavid B. Bertan and Jill R. Shellow wrote in a 10-page letter. It caused immense harm to its victims, destroying lives in the process.. Where Is Larry Rays Cult Survivor Claudia Drury Now. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to Isabella Pollok, 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. Santos Rosario testified that Ray ordered Drury to perform oral sex on him. Your crime was an extremely serious one, Judge Lewis Liman told Pollock before handing down the 54-month sentence in Manhattan federal court. 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. 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.. Isabell Pollok, 31, pleaded guilty in . Biden Dares Republicans to Go After Obamacare and Medicaid. RAY's co-defendant Isabella Pollok is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Who is Isabella Pollok? Shellow disagreed, calling her client Rays fungible and convenient tool. I felt I was sinking into the quicksand of what would have mirrored my parents and my brother, addicts with no direction, her letter to the government continues. It sparked a war of words that quickly got personal. RELATED: Mother And Her Son Murdered Her Husband As He Slept In Bed Over $1,500 Debt. : Spooky Friday 13 true crime stories thatll keep you up at night. Isabella Pollok was Larry Ray 's daughter's best friend. Shed initially pleaded not guilty. Pollok will remain free on bail until her sentencing date. Lawrences hold over me changed who I was and it continues to be a healing process. He then dumped cold water on her and choked her with a plastic bag and pillow, Drury testified. However, Cynthia shared that she made attempts to remove Isabella from the situation but was threatened by Ray. Some of Rays stories, like his supposedly crucial role in ending the Kosovo War, were tall tales and exaggerations; others, like his ties to ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, checked out. It was up to Judge Lewis Liman to decide how much her psychological duress contributed to her participation in sadistic crimes. Larry Ray has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for using manipulation to extort millions from his victims. Pollok declined the offer, holding onto the myth that Ray was a victim of a massive conspiracy. A receipt corroborated Drurys testimony, and it was initialed by Ray and Pollok. Prosecutors had asked Liman to sentence Pollok to a maximum of 60 months in prison, but acknowledged in a sentencing submission that she was also a victim of Ray. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. (Photo via DOJ). In a tearful statement before she was sentenced, Pollok who will also be required to serve three years of supervised release after she completes her prison term said she supported Ray because he controlled me in ways I cannot understand.. Isabella Pollok, one of the Sarah Lawrence students who fell under the influence of Lawrence V. Ray, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money. She was reportedly best friends with Talia, the daughter of prime accused Lawrence 'Larry' Ray. Most importantly, though, per the federal prosecutors, she helped Larry channel $2.5 million from her once-roommate and friend Claudia Drury, whom he had forced into prostitution sex trafficking. The former Sarah Lawrence College student pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy in September. Drury questioned her self-image. In 2010, Isabella Pollok was 19-year-old and a student at Sarah Lawrence College. 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. 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. Lawrence Ray, 59, who goes by Larry, is a well-known New York scammer who has strong ties to disgraced former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik. She picked up millions of dollars in sex-trafficking proceeds from her former Sarah Lawrence roommate, Claudia Drury, whom Ray coerced into prostitution. MANHATTAN, NEWYORK CITY: Isabella Pollok, an ex-student of Sarah Lawrence College has admitted to aiding the father of a former classmate in laundering funds earned from extortion and pimping out young women he met after moving into their college dorm. It wasnt until witnessing this that I began to accept just how susceptible I was to being manipulated, she wrote. Walgreens Wont Sell Abortion Pills in Red States Even Where Its Legal. His reporting on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was featured on the Starz and Channel 4 documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" For the longest time I believed that at nineteen years old, I was an adult and therefore in complete control of my mindset, Pollok told him. To date in the saga of convicted sex trafficker Larry Ray, federal prosecutors charged only one person as his co-conspirator and referred to her as his lieutenant: Isabella Pollok, his daughters best friend. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 2023 Vox Media, LLC. "There is the damaged, lonely Sarah Lawrence College freshman, the letter stated. Just about anyone who read our 2019 cover story, or followed coverage of Rays trial, or watched Stolen Youth, the new Hulu documentary in which Pollok participated, could see that Pollok was utterly brainwashed by Ray. Pollok is being investigated for helping Ray manipulate and abuse Pollok's fellow students at Sarah Lawrence College, on September 7 2022 she pled guilty to one count of conspiring to launder money. Over the next decade, more young adults joined and left the cult . Federal prosecutors, who had previously described Ray as a monster, didnt dispute Polloks own victimization in the case, but noted she was also complicit in Rays campus sex ring at the esteemed liberal arts college. Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes involving his daughter and friends. Im her mother, I love her. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to. Vish Burra, the congressmans director of operations, met me on Staten Island to explain the plan to make Santos president? Your crime was an extremely serious one,Mr Liman told her, according to Law and Crime. Federal prosecutors have now charged Isabella Pollok with helping Ray psychologically and sexually exploit victims for financial gain, according to a superseding indictment. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". Rays victims Santos Rosario, Dan Levin and Claudia Drury. 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.. 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 According to reports, Isabella once forced a brother-sister duo to wear diapers around her partners Manhattan apartment, and she further had a hand in inflicting other forms of torture on different victims. Santos Rosario and his siblings had a turbulent family life. 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. At the sentencing Wednesday, Assistant US Attorney Lindsey Keenan said Pollok acted with initiative and out of her own volition while aiding Ray. The Government does not dispute that the defendant also suffered at Rays hands, federal prosecutors wrote in the submission. 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. Emailus. This story has been shared 104,452 times. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Ray, 62, drew the group of young adults into a cult-like family after moving into his daughters Sarah Lawrence dorm room in 2010. On Wednesday, five months after Pollok pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering, the same judge sentenced her to 54 months in prison. . If it were not for Lawrence Rays presence at Sarah Lawrence, Isabella would not be here. 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. This story has been shared 135,794 times. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. In her letter to the judge, Pollok blamed Ray for driving her to that point. "He started to help me kind of process and make sense of a lot of things I just couldn't make sense of.". Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Isabella Pollok was both a victim and lieutenant of cult mastermind Larry Rays reign of terror over students at the elite New York liberal arts college, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. It involved extreme and sadistic violence and it was sophisticated, Liman added. The accusations include "helping [Ray] collect millions of dollars in profits from one of her former classmates whom prosecutors said he had forced to become a prostitute." . 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. . According to Law And Crime, she pleaded guilty to a single Larry Ray promised answers, peddling a credo of sexual liberation and the quest for potential. He also dazzled his young acolytes through his elaborate backstory boasting of connections to elite figures in politics, the U.S. military, and the intelligence community. 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. He was also said to have extorted money from their families and made some of them take part in forced labor and prostitution. , 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. 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. Isabella Pollok, 31, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to a single money laundering conspiracy count, specifically related to proceeds of Ray's sick plot to traffic and extort a group. 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. Even the government had once described Pollok as a victim. Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Each of these pickups reflects initiative, Keenan told Liman, adding that Ray and Pollok blew the cash on day-to-day expenses, as well as on pricey restaurants, hotel rooms and shopping sprees at Bergdorf Goodman.
