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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. Your crime was an extremely serious one, Judge Lewis Liman told Pollock before handing down the 54-month sentence in Manhattan federal court. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Attending Sarah Lawrence was my way of trying to run away from traumas that I experienced in my childhood.. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Key Moments From Alex Murdaughs Testimony and Murder Trial. For the next decade, he exploited, terrorized, and tortured Talias friends through psychological abuse and threats, according to US attorney Damian Williams. 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. 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. Will others follow? I know this request comes late. He was also said to have extorted money from their families and made some of them take part in forced labor and 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. Ms. This case is a parents worst nightmare, Shellow added. In an interview, Polloks mother told The Daily Beast she believed her daughter had been truly brainwashed. Thats very different from saying, I will.'. . 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. 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. I am not the same person who met Lawrence Ray over 10 years ago. Pollok will remain free on bail until her sentencing date. In federal court, people awaiting sentencing commonly write emotional pleas to the presiding judge seeking leniency, but Polloks overture stands apart: She addressed two separate letters to the judge and prosecutors. If it were not for Lawrence Rays presence at Sarah Lawrence, Isabella would not be here. I am still a work in progress but know to the extent that I can make amends for the harm I have caused I am willing. Drury testified that she made $2.5 million through four years of coerced sex work and gave all of her earnings to Ray. That sentence must clearly state that crime does not pay, the judge said. Where Is Larry Rays Cult Survivor Claudia Drury Now. The 31-year-old, who was out on bail, also conceded in court that I knew what I was doing was wrong and against the law. From what we can tell, her sentencing hearing is scheduled for late February 2023 she faces the absolute maximum penalty of five years in a federal correctional facility, plus $250,000 in fines. Walgreens Wont Sell Abortion Pills in Red States Even Where Its Legal. According to Law And Crime, she pleaded guilty to a single He then dumped cold water on her and choked her with a plastic bag and pillow, Drury testified. Isabella Pollok has been sentenced to 4.5 years in relation to the Sarah Lawrence sex cult case. The 30-year-old was indicted by federal. She questioned how Sarah Lawrence College allowed Ray to sleep inside the dorm to begin with, allowing the cult to take root on campus. N er hun dmt. But he said that, but for Pollok, this scheme would not have succeeded the way that it did.. 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. She does not deserve jail time.. . A co-conspirator of "cult" sex trafficker Larry Ray has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. Hulus new three-part docuseries, Stolen Youth, investigates the crimes of Sarah Lawrence College sex cult leader Larry Ray. Pollok wrote: "I trusted Lawrence more than I trusted myself and in doing so, I betrayed my own sense of right and wrong.". 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. Both Pollok and her mother maintain the student was one of Rays many victims through manipulation. 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. Pollok must report to federal prison in 60 days, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed with Oxygen.com on Friday. 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? An adult woman, yes, but an adult woman without the ability to think for herself, she said. 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. Ray turned a guru for the young students and soon persuaded them to believe they had committed crimes against them. . I pled guilty because I am guilty. Like most parents, Cynthia Pollok is standing by her daughters side through her current legal struggles. I am truly sorry, she said as her voice broke and she sobbed. 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. During that time, Pollok became a top lieutenant to the fiend and collected cash from his victims, including Claudia Drury, a former Sarah Lawrence student whom Ray forced into prostitution. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". Vish Burra, the congressmans director of operations, met me on Staten Island to explain the plan to make Santos president? The Cut first reported on Ray's actions in a 2019 story, in which it was detailed how Ray made himself appear to be a confidant and spiritual guide to Talia's friends. Born Lawrence Grecco, the former US Air Force troop moved into his daughter, Talias, college dorm in 2010. Shortly after his arrest in February 2020, Pollok met with the U.S. Attorneys office, who asked if she would voluntarily participate in their investigation, while also telling her they had enough evidence to charge her. 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. Pollok was identified by prosecutors as being present in a Manhattan hotel room when Ray tortured Durey, stripping her and suffocating her with a plastic bag, Law and Crime reported. With the help and love of others I have freed myself from the past. 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. Isabella Pollok was Larry Ray 's daughter's best friend. 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. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! But, they added, Pollok grew close to Ray as he exerted tyrannical control over a group of college students and other young people and exploited her position to insulate her from the worst of his abuse. Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. 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. 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. And a linguist named Emily M. Bender is very worried what will happen when we forget this. She sounded a similar note to U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, who will sentence her on Feb. 22. Then, in August of last year, she agreed to a plea deal. It has been said that she could face up to five years in jail as well as a fine of $250,000. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. 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. The state has a near-total abortion ban, and now activists and GOP officials are fighting an exemption for physician-defined medical emergencies. Larry Ray's alleged 'lieutenant' Isabella Pollok is awaiting her sentence Documents obtained by Law And Crime claim that Pollock was indicted in Ray's case around January 2021 on. Distractify is a registered trademark. 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 . Ray had pulled Polloks hair, hit her, and locked her outside in the cold of winter. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Isabella Pollok, one of the Sarah Lawrence students who fell under the influence of Lawrence V. Ray, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money. 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. Ray, a shadowy figure who never actually served in the marines, exuded coveted experience, ambition and curiosity. So, where is she now, and what sentence does she face? I already bought the tickets a month ago, and they sprang this on me yesterday, Cynthia told the outlet. 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." . If it were not for Lawrence Ray's presence at Sarah Lawrence, Isabella would not be here. 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. 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 . Referring to the governments proposed five-year sentence, he added: To me, that sentence is vengeance, not justice.. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to. 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. They complied. 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. has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. On September 7, 2022 she pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to Isabella Pollok, 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. I'm now asking for a second chance.". 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. 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 March 2021, Pollok was charged with racketeering, extortion and sex trafficking conspiracies, to which she pleaded not guilty at the time. I badly hurt my friends and I am ashamed, Pollok said. The former VP has an extremely narrow path to viability in 2024. Thats why Larry gradually started referring to Isabella as his wife, which soon made it clear she was not his victim (as initially suspected) but rather his co-conspirator in every sense of the term. "He started to help me kind of process and make sense of a lot of things I just couldn't make sense of.". Intro- Robert. I am not the same person who met [Larry] Ray over 10 years ago. It sparked a war of words that quickly got personal. 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 . 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. Mike Pences 2024 Strategy Totally Depends on Iowa Evangelicals. Attorneys who successfully prosecuted her. There is the broken automaton. Isabella Pollok was accused of conspiring with Larry Ray. Hes a degenerate.. Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence is streaming now on Hulu. 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Prior to taking a plea deal, Pollok had faced a series of charges, including extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy and money laundering. There are no winners in this case, her attorneys said after the hearing. 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. This story has been shared 135,794 times. Polloks defense team said. 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. 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. 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. The 4-Day Week Is for White-collar Workers. Judge Liman sharply questioned Polloks attorney David B. Bertan, who argued that Pollok was also Rays victim. Drury questioned her self-image. Ray faces a maximum of life in prison at his sentencing on Dec. 1. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. "There is the damaged, lonely Sarah Lawrence College freshman, the letter stated. 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. I will live with the guilt forever. For Americas wage laborers, a 32-hour workweek is less of a beautiful dream than an oppressive reality. 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. . She did not comment as she left court Wednesday. "I know this request comes late. Executive Producers Of Peacocks Sex, Lies And The College Cult On Sarah Lawrence Cult Leader Larry Ray, A co-conspirator of cult sex trafficker. 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. We've received your submission. Her attorneys described something akin to deprogramming. Pollok taunted Drury during the torture session, calling her a faker and telling her the water was room temperature, she testified. He was with his trusted lieutenant Isabella Pollok. He called a significant sentence of imprisonment necessary, and his sentence fell just shy of the 5-year maximum sentence under her count of conviction. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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. According to reports, Isabella once forced a brother-sister duo to wear, around her partners Manhattan apartment, and she further had a hand in inflicting other forms of torture on different victims. The president surprised and angered some Democrats by declining to veto a GOP effort to block a D.C. bill. 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. Isabella Pollok Gets Sentenced!", Roberta Glass True Crime Report, 28 Feb 2023 [00:28:27] "[NXIVM cult loyalist, Marc Elliott] gets punked [on H3H3 podcast]. They had written a letter to the federal judge in the case in the weeks leading up to her sentencing pleading for leniency. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. During a press conference, the mayor said his words about not believing in the separation of church and state were just his own beliefs. Biden Dares Republicans to Go After Obamacare and Medicaid. The prediction came to pass. Prior to taking a plea deal, Pollok had faced a series of charges, including extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy and money laundering. A co-conspirator of "cult" sex trafficker Larry Ray has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. I did want to [go to the trial to] see her in person because I havent seen her in at least 10 years I havent talked to her in at least seven., Cynthia continued, Isabella finally started to realize that being in Larrys corner is not going to help her. He mentally and physically tortured the group of young people for nearly a decade and extorted huge sums of money from them, prosecutors showed at his Manhattan federal trial. 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. 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. "Ray groomed Isabella, at first by listening and paying attention to her," Polloks attorneys wrote. 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. She was also Rays servant and sex partner, and, as prosecutors said in court in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, his right hand in a decade-long criminal enterprise. Shellow noted that there were red flags everywhere, including people who reported it to the school. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. He counseled her and became her life mentor. Even the government had once described Pollok as a victim. Its part of campaign to smoke out and then attack unpopular Republican cuts. 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. 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. Cynthia Pollok shared that she tried to take Isabella Pollock away from Lawrence "Larry" Ray. Assistant U.S. 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.. This trust became a sort of blind faith. It runs through Iowa following the course set by Huckabee, Santorum, and Cruz. 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 . Claudia Drury described how Larry Ray manipulated and tortured her, and led her to prostitution in the Sarah Lawrence sex-cult case. He used violence, psychological abuse and sexual coercion to control several students over a decade-long period. All rights reserved. Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes involving his daughter and friends. 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 do not blame her for any of this, any of what happened, or even the things she said and did to me. Who is Isabella Pollok? 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. Levin questioned his sexuality. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Pollok faces a maximum five-year sentence following her guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy. Victim and accomplice. Isabella Pollok was Larry Rays daughters best friend. Thanks for contacting us. This follows Isabella's original charges of racketeering, extortion, and sex trafficking conspiracies. This password will be used to sign into all, 6 Stand-ups Analyze ChatGPTs Attempts to Steal Their Jobs. 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. I believe that he specifically encouraged, groomed and conditioned callousness and meanness into her personality, while making her not only believe but know, with conviction, that her reactions were the appropriate and kind one.. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Pollok wept at her reflections of those actions at her sentencing. 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. He offered gold-wrapped candy bars in a stunt that showed he isnt a worthy successor to his dad. Felicia Rosario, Daniel Barban Levin and Isabella Pollok in "Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence." The director met Felicia Rosario and Pollok shortly after Levin, and when Ray's trial . 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 . She had knowingly disguised illegal sex trafficking proceeds of $2.5m after Ray had forced former student Claudia Durey into prostitution, the court heard. The evidence would overlap with what prosecutors used to win a conviction against Ray, who was found guilty in April of 15 counts, including racketeering, sex trafficking and money laundering. A recording of the night of terror was played to the jury at Rays trial. Emailus. She admitted that she helped Ray sexually traffic her one-time friend and roommate Claudia Drury and launder her millions of dollars in earnings. 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. I know I committed serious crimes and I fully accept responsibility for my actions. 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. The network has reportedly instituted a soft ban on Trump, a huge problem for his campaign and for Fox News if the policy backfires. Shed initially pleaded not guilty. The outlet shares that Isabella will remain free until her sentencing date on Feb. 22, 2023. Over the next two years, Pollok underwent psychological evaluations, changed attorneys, met with therapists, worked a steady job, and found a boyfriend. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Biden Chooses Crime Messaging Over D.C. Home Rule. Isabella Pollok, in a government exhibit. Larry Ray arrived in a federal courtroom Tuesday wearing the standard khaki shirt and pants issued to inmates awaiting trial. 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. Larry Rays trusted cult member Isabella Pollok pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Ray coerced his acolytes into falsely confessing these crimes, which he compulsively recorded in audio and video tapes, evidence showed. This story has been shared 104,452 times. 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. 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.. It was up to Judge Lewis Liman to decide how much her psychological duress contributed to her participation in sadistic crimes. 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. "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. It was unclear whether they were there in support of Pollok did they forgive Pollok for the torment she inflicted on them? All had come to see Larry Ray as a man whose advice they trusted with personal difficulties and insecurities. Pollok apologised through tears at the sentencing, saying that her former mentor had controlled me in ways I cannot understand, Law and Crime reported. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. February 23, 2023. She is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2023. [emailprotected], Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. Culture Interview True Crime TV Hulu. It took a lot more investigative digging as well as interviews with real victims before she was charged with racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, and money laundering. Another Sarah Lawrence student, Felicia Rosario, was also allegedly romantically involved with Ray. Isabella Pollok, 31, must report to federal prison in 60 days, prosecutors said.