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 Rays father, only for their bond to soon evolve into much more. The role of Isabella Pollok who was indicted alongside Lawrence Ray in 2021 for serving as his "trusted lieutenant" in the creepy cult was thrown into sharp relief in a Manhattan . In March 2021, Pollok was charged with racketeering, extortion and sex trafficking conspiracies, to which she pleaded not guilty at the time. 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. The three-part series, premiering on February 9, gives Ray's victims a platform to speak out about Ray's decade of abuse. There is the broken automaton. 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. 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 . Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. 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.. She is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2023. A woman who referred to herself as Sarah Lawrence 'cult leader' Larry Ray's 'wife' and lived with him and his co-accused, 'lieutenant' Isabella Pollok, has told jurors how her 'romantic . They had written a letter to the federal judge in the case in the weeks leading up to her sentencing pleading for leniency. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Pollok faces a maximum five-year sentence following her guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". I already bought the tickets a month ago, and they sprang this on me yesterday, Cynthia told the outlet. In September 2022, Pollok pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to launder money. "They were there or a woman Ray had "forced into a life of prostitution," she says. In September, Isabella Pollok admitted to conspiring with Ray to commit money laundering. The city threw out a Democratic mayor for the first time in decades. Pollok will remain free on bail until her sentencing date. Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence is out on Hulu now. This case is a parents worst nightmare, Shellow added. 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.. Pollok also wrote letters to the judge and prosecutors in her case. . And tell him that no matter what happens or doesnt happen, in no way am I straying from the truth.. The fact she was recently single reportedly played a significant role in the situation as well, especially as Larry was then able to step up to help her process and make sense of a lot of things.. (Photo via DOJ), Polloks story was unique, in part, because of the role she played in Drurys sexual exploitation. Isabella Pollok and Larry Ray pictured in stills from "Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence." When I started at Sarah Lawrence College in 2009, I saw it as opportunity to escape all the hardships in my life, Pollok wrote to the three Assistant U.S. She picked up millions of dollars in sex-trafficking proceeds from her former Sarah Lawrence roommate, Claudia Drury, whom Ray coerced into prostitution. 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. 2024 Polls Show DeSantis Cant Easily Knock Out Trump. One such person is Isabella Pollok, one of the students who encountered Ray and became his alleged "lieutenant" in a "cult" he made at Sarah Lawrence. 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. Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes involving his daughter and friends. (Photo via DOJ). I pled guilty because I am guilty. Will others follow? The government sees Pollok as Rays lieutenant, but Polloks lawyers see her as his once-brainwashed victim. But Polloks defense lawyers, David B. Bertan and Jill R. Shellow, also argued she was severely victimized by Ray. Ray groomed Isabella, at first by listening and paying attention to her. By Dorian Geiger Thanks for contacting us. 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. So now, if you wish to learn more about the one individual to have undeniably helped him manipulate and control victims throughout his lieutenant, Isabella Pollok weve got you covered. While it is certainly true that the defendant was unlikely to have instigated the abuse that was inflicted on the victims, she was a willing accomplice for years. He glanced at his girlfriend and co-defendant, Isabella Pollock,. Have a tip or story idea? 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. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Isabella Pollok was Larry Ray 's daughter's best friend. Thats because it meticulously charts the way Larry Ray began an abusive cult shortly after moving into his daughters dorm at Sarah Lawrence College, just not to be caught for nearly a decade. Victim and accomplice. Rays manipulation of Isabella was different in kind from the other student-victims because among other things he had made her his lover, Polloks attorneys wrote. He counseled her and became her life mentor. Earlier in the proceedings, Judge Liman remarked that Pollok didnt acknowledge the pain she caused her friends, and Polloks lawyers said she would do so in her remarks. Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for a decades-long abuse scheme against Sarah Lawrence College students. Meanwhile, Lawrence "Larry" Ray, 63, the leader of the Sarah Lawrence sex cult, learned his fate in a New York courtroom last month. The state has a near-total abortion ban, and now activists and GOP officials are fighting an exemption for physician-defined medical emergencies. She did not comment as she left court Wednesday. She had knowingly disguised illegal sex trafficking proceeds of $2.5m after Ray had forced former student Claudia Durey into prostitution, the court heard. Please remember that Isabellas role in Larrys crimes, and her willingness to play that role, were not the consequences but the goal of the way in which he abused her.. Victim and accomplice. For Americas wage laborers, a 32-hour workweek is less of a beautiful dream than an oppressive reality. Claudia Drury's Harrowing Cult Story Was Documented in 'Stolen Youth' Where Is She Now? On Wednesday, five months after Pollok pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering, the same judge sentenced her to 54 months in prison. Privacy Policy and Daughter Talia Ray had introduced Pollok and her other roommates to him after his release from prison on unrelated child custody charges. That sentence must clearly state that crime does not pay, the judge said. He began to counsel Isabella Pollok, Talia's best friend and, now, a co-defendant in the case. 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. At Sarah Lawrence in 2010, Pollok, then a 19-year-old sophomore, met Larry Ray, her housemate's 50-year-old father. Roberta tells [what] happened at Larry Ray's co-conspirator Isabella Pollok's sentencing hearing." Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence is streaming now on Hulu. King Charles Evicts Harry and Meghan From House They Dont Live In. 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. If it were not for Lawrence Ray's presence at Sarah Lawrence, Isabella would not be here. Isabella Pollok, who pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy in the Sarah Lawrence University sex trafficking case in which Larry Ray was convicted by a jury, claimed in court documents before sentencing that she was also a victim of his. to a single count of conspiracy in September. His techniques, well established tools of coercive control, easily bonded Isabella to him. Who is Isabella Pollok? The sport desperately needs to change, no matter how loudly purists complain. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Hundreds of people violently detained during a protest in the Bronx could receive $21,500 each. 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. As damning as Polloks participation in Rays horrific abuse was, the sentencing hearing hardly provided the sense of clear moral victory felt after Rays sentence was announced. The president surprised and angered some Democrats by declining to veto a GOP effort to block a D.C. bill. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Florida Republican Wants to Cancel Democrats Over Slavery. At the time her seven housemates, including Pollok, didn't see the arrangement as an issuebut things took a dark turn. 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. It sparked a war of words that quickly got personal. 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. 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. His decision a sentence of just over four years was only slightly less than the five years prosecutors had requested. Isabella Pollok must report to prison by April 25 to begin serving a 4 1/2-year sentence that U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman said resulted from her failure to rebel against Lawrence Ray's . 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. Isabella Pollok, one of the Sarah Lawrence students who fell under the influence of Mr. Ray, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money, after being accused by prosecutors of serving as the man . Larry Ray accused of leading sex cult at Sarah Lawrence College, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, A students father moved into a Sarah Lawrence dorm and started a cult. There is the awed protg. 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. 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.. She had been estranged from her family and soon became one of the elder Ray's most eager acolytes. 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. Its part of campaign to smoke out and then attack unpopular Republican cuts. "Ray groomed Isabella, at first by listening and paying attention to her," Polloks attorneys wrote. Thanks for contacting us. This story has been shared 126,899 times. In a purported effort to prove to Levin that he wasnt gay, he made the young man put a giant dildo in his mouth, witnesses recounted. And now there is the Isabella who is before Your Honor prepared to be sentenced. Story . Cynthia Pollok hasn't seen her daughter Isabella in a decade. In Tennessee, Even Abortion to Save a Womans Life May Be Illegal. Pollok's lawyers wrote a letter to the case's judge where they said that she was also a victim of Ray's "cult." And that its not fucking fair, she said in Stolen Youth. 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. Ray also made Felicia Rosario whom he didnt marry but called his wife another lover, and routinely blurred sexual boundaries with his followers. I'm now asking for a second chance.". In the hearing, the Sarah Lawrence student admitted she knew her activities were wrong, which included recording the abuse Ray inflicted on Claudia Drury in the fall of 2018. Hulu's 'Stolen Youth' Details a Cult at Sarah Lawrence College Where Is the Man Behind It? Ray forced Drury to strip naked, handcuffed her to a chair and positioned her near a blasting air conditioner in the room at the Gregory Hotel in Midtown. Law&Crime chronicled Rays case in a six-part narrative podcast series, Devil in the Dorm, exclusively available ad-free on Wondery+. Instead, on September 7, 2022, Isabella changed her plea from not guilty to guilty to a single count of conspiracy to launder money by admitting she took part in transactions involving extorted funds. His reporting on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was featured on the Starz and Channel 4 documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" In April 2022 he was found guilty on all counts, and on January 20, 2023 he was sentenced to 60 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, violent crime in aid of racketeering, extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, tax evasion and money laundering offenses. Assistant U.S. It wasnt until witnessing this that I began to accept just how susceptible I was to being manipulated, she wrote. "There is the damaged, lonely Sarah Lawrence College freshman, the letter stated. The truth is she is a victim, albeit in a slightly different way, Bertan said. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. 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.. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to Isabella Pollok, 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Sarah Lawrence sex cult leader sentenced to 60 years in prison, Sarah Lawrence sex cult fiend to face sentencing today, Sarah Lawrence sex-cult leaders top lieutenant faces 5 years after admitting guilt, Jury finds Larry Ray guilty on all counts in Sarah Lawrence sex cult trial. She later added: "I know I committed serious crimes and I fully accept responsibility for my actions. She questioned how Sarah Lawrence College allowed Ray to sleep inside the dorm to begin with, allowing the cult to take root on campus. "While collecting money from her abused and trafficked college friends, the defendant was spending luxurious nights at the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side and buying expensive clothing, beauty products and high-end lingerie," prosecutors also wrote. Ray turned a guru for the young students and soon persuaded them to believe they had committed crimes against them. 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." In 2010, Isabella Pollok was 19-year-old and a student at Sarah Lawrence College. : Spooky Friday 13 true crime stories thatll keep you up at night. According to prosecutors, she served as the chief lieutenant to Lawrence Ray, who relied on her. Isabella Pollok (31) omtales som lytnant i Lawrence Larry Rays voldelige skole-kult. A co-conspirator of "cult" sex trafficker Larry Ray has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. I trusted Lawrence more than I trusted myself and in doing so, I betrayed my own sense of right and wrong, she wrote. He began having "therapy" sessions with individuals in order to learn intimate details about them. Ray then became her lover and convinced her of the need to explore her sexuality, the defense attorneys wrote. 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 . 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. Isabella did whatever Ray directed.. United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman announces the indictment against Lawrence Ray aka "Lawrence Grecco" on February 11, 2020 in New York City. 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. Former sex trafficking prosecutor Mitchell Epner, who is now a partner at the firm Rottenberg Lipman Rich PC, believed the judge walked an appropriate line of punishment. has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. Larry Ray has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for using manipulation to extort millions from his victims. This story has been shared 126,899 times. And as it turns out, he had help from Sarah Lawrence college student Isabella Pollok. 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. It runs through Iowa following the course set by Huckabee, Santorum, and Cruz. At the Manhattan federal courthouse on Wednesday, US District Court Judge Lewis Liman said Polloks sophisticated scheme had involvedextreme and sadistic violence. Biden Dares Republicans to Go After Obamacare and Medicaid. In case youve been out of the loop, Isabella pleaded guilty on Sept. 5, 2022, to one count of conspiracy of laundering money, in connection to Rays crimes of extortion, money laundering, sex trafficking, and more. Federal prosecutors have now charged Isabella Pollok with helping Ray psychologically and sexually exploit victims for financial gain, according to a superseding indictment. On Wednesday in Manhattan, a judge sentenced Isabella Pollok to more than four years in prison, after Pollok pleaded guilty for her role in helping Larry Ray exploit a group of . Prior to taking a plea deal, Pollok had faced a series of charges, including extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy and money laundering. Pollok, 31, who graduated from the Westchester County school where Ray met most of his victims, faced up to five years in prison. Even the government had once described Pollok as a victim. . Ray referred to Felicia Rosario as his "wife," though they were never married. Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Who is Isabella Pollok? The Government does not dispute that the defendant also suffered at Rays hands, federal prosecutors wrote in the submission. . This follows Isabella's original charges of racketeering, extortion, and sex trafficking conspiracies. "Witness interviews and evidence recovered during the investigation show parallels between the defendant's experience and that of the victims in this case.". 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. But she was no less a victim.. Distractify is a registered trademark. I know this request comes late. 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. 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. Referring to the governments proposed five-year sentence, he added: To me, that sentence is vengeance, not justice.. Plays Incompetent Willy Wonka at CPAC. Vish Burra, the congressmans director of operations, met me on Staten Island to explain the plan to make Santos president? According to Law And Crime, she pleaded guilty to a single 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Biden Chooses Crime Messaging Over D.C. Home Rule. Isabella Pollok has been sentenced to 4.5 years in relation to the Sarah Lawrence sex cult case. Additionally, many have long wondered how Isabellas family has been impacted by the news. Pollok will have to serve a term of three years supervised release after she gets out of prison. 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. It has been said that she could face up to five years in jail as well as a fine of $250,000. Isabella Pollok and Larry Ray (Photos via DOJ) 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 daughter's best friend. Now former Sarah Lawrence student Isabella Pollok, who according to her family was a victim of Ray's, is charged with one count each of extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy . She was barely a teenager when she met him. Isabella Pollok, one of the Sarah Lawrence students who fell under the influence of Mr. Ray, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money, after being accused by prosecutors of serving as. He was also said to have extorted money from their families and made some of them take part in forced labor and prostitution. Isabella Pollok was Larry Rays daughters best friend. "The Government does not dispute that the defendant also suffered at Ray's hands," prosecutors said in a separate letter to a federal judge. Prior to taking a plea deal, Pollok had faced a series of charges, including extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy and money laundering. On September 7, 2022 she pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy. I am truly sorry, she said as her voice broke and she sobbed. These acts were committed because she was brainwashed by Ray, he said. 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 was released on her current bail conditions Wednesday and will surrender to federal prison on April 25. I badly hurt my friends and I am ashamed, Pollok said. 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." Ray, a shadowy figure who never actually served in the marines, exuded coveted experience, ambition and curiosity. The docuseries 'Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence' is now available on Hulu. Cynthia Pollok has openly blamed Lawrence Ray for her daughter''s involvement in the sex cult. A co-conspirator of "cult" sex trafficker Larry Ray has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Drury, who felt the worst brunt on Polloks exploitation, appeared to agree in a letter to the court. Pollok, 31, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering, avoiding a trial. I believed and supported someone who controlled me in ways I could not understand, Pollok tearfully said, struggling to get the words out. Ms. Pollok admitted that she laundered the loot, and a jury heard that she participated in what prosecutors called Drurys long night of torture.. Copyright 2023 Distractify. I will live with the guilt forever, she said. It was in that institution, some 15 miles north of midtown Manhattan, that Pollok had met Larry Ray as a college sophomore in the autumn of 2010. The former VP has an extremely narrow path to viability in 2024. Shellow disagreed, calling her client Rays fungible and convenient tool. 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. An adult woman, yes, but an adult woman without the ability to think for herself, she said. In 2010, Ray moved into his daughter Talia's student accommodation after being released from prison. Isabella Pollok was sentenced to four years in prison for. She admitted that she helped Ray sexually traffic her one-time friend and roommate Claudia Drury and launder her millions of dollars in earnings. Like most parents, Cynthia Pollok is standing by her daughter's side through her current legal struggles. It Sure Doesnt Seem Like Havana Syndrome Is Russias Fault.