He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". 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. Hulu's 'Stolen Youth' Details a Cult at Sarah Lawrence College Where Is the Man Behind It? An adult woman, yes, but an adult woman without the ability to think for herself, she said. 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. What I want is to see her heal, process, move on and live a good, happy life, Drury wrote in a letter to the judge before sentencing. We've received your submission. 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 prosecutor pointed to the dozens of cash pickups Pollok made from Drury while she was living in hotel rooms and sleeping with men for money. 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. It was also stated in the documents that Ray had "tied his victim to a chair, placed a plastic bag over her head, and nearly suffocated her.". Larry Rays trusted cult member Isabella Pollok pleaded guilty on Wednesday. I will live with the guilt forever, she said. Will others follow? Shed initially pleaded not guilty. She did not comment as she left court Wednesday. 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. His co-counsel Jill R. Shellow struck a similar note. Parents and patients are now refuting her key claims. Born Lawrence Grecco, the former US Air Force troop moved into his daughter, Talias, college dorm in 2010. At Sarah Lawrence in 2010, Pollok, then a 19-year-old sophomore, met Larry Ray, her housemate's 50-year-old father. Cynthia Pollok has openly blamed Lawrence Ray for her daughter''s involvement in the sex cult. Most importantly, though, per the federal prosecutors, she helped Larry channel $2.5 million from her once-roommate and friend. Mike Pences 2024 Strategy Totally Depends on Iowa Evangelicals. Im her mother, I love her. In 2020, the story led to charges against Ray and his co-conspirator Isabella Pollok one of those long-ago sophomores and Talia's best friend who collected the cash and was Ray's lieutenant. 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. It wasnt until witnessing this that I began to accept just how susceptible I was to being manipulated, she wrote. 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. Isabella Pollok, 31, must report to federal prison in 60 days, prosecutors said. 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. For Americas wage laborers, a 32-hour workweek is less of a beautiful dream than an oppressive reality. 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. 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 . Pollok admitted that she laundered the loot, and a jury heard that she participated in what prosecutors called Drurys long night of torture.. 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. 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 . It lasted a long time. 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. At the Manhattan federal courthouse on Wednesday, US District Court Judge Lewis Liman said Polloks sophisticated scheme had involvedextreme and sadistic violence. He is twice her age, Cynthia told The Daily Beast in September 2022. It's the place where her step-grandfather Gordon Ray resides and the place she'd first started calling home around 2014 after landing a job at The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines. Pollok taunted Drury during the torture session, calling her a faker and telling her the water was room temperature, she testified. Another Sarah Lawrence student, Felicia Rosario, was also allegedly romantically involved with Ray. So, where is she now, and what sentence does she face? This follows Isabella's original charges of racketeering, extortion, and sex trafficking conspiracies. 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. According to The Cut, Pollok "seemed to take comfort" in Ray's company when he moved in as she had recently had a breakup. Larry Ray arrived in a federal courtroom Tuesday wearing the standard khaki shirt and pants issued to inmates awaiting trial. His reporting on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was featured on the Starz and Channel 4 documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" Pollok now faces a maximum five-year sentence and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the financial gain of her conspiracy. It was up to Judge Lewis Liman to decide how much her psychological duress contributed to her participation in sadistic crimes. 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 . The Government does not dispute that the defendant also suffered at Rays hands, federal prosecutors wrote in the submission. Now that Rays fate has been sealed by the justice system, folks are wondering what consequences Isabella will also face. "The Government does not dispute that the defendant also suffered at Ray's hands," prosecutors said in a separate letter to a federal judge. Have a tip or story idea? 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. Emailus. 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 story has been shared 104,452 times. 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]. Attorneys Danielle Sassoon, Mollie Bracewell, and Lindsey Keenan are in charge of the prosecution. I'm now asking for a second chance.". She told prosecutors that she came to see the Ray family as a lifeline. Polloks attorneys accused Ray of gradually coercing their client until he ultimately exercised complete control over her. They insisted shed been brainwashed by Ray. 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.. 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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. It caused immense harm to its victims, destroying lives in the process.. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to Isabella Pollok, 31, in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon. At the time her seven housemates, including Pollok, didn't see the arrangement as an issuebut things took a dark turn. 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. 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. According to BBC, he was found guilty of all 15 counts of racketeering, violent assault, extortion, sex trafficking, . But she was no less a victim.. 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.. 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. 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. Ray coerced his acolytes into falsely confessing these crimes, which he compulsively recorded in audio and video tapes, evidence showed. 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. In Defense of the Talkative Trump Grand Juror. She admitted that she helped Ray sexually traffic her one-time friend and roommate Claudia Drury and launder her millions of dollars in earnings. He is the host of Law&Crime podcast "Objections: with Adam Klasfeld.". Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence is out on Hulu now. All rights reserved. His techniques, well established tools of coercive control, easily bonded Isabella to him. 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. Legal documents show that Larry Ray, daughter Talia, Isabella and others were still living together in 2017. She had faced a possible maximum of five years in prison, according to a plea agreement. Who is Isabella Pollok? During this time Ray began a relationship with both Pollok and Felicia Rosariothe sister of two of Ray's victims, Santos and Yalitza Rosario. At first, what Larry Ray gave the Slonim 9 . 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. "They were there or a woman Ray had "forced into a life of prostitution," she says. 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. This story has been shared 126,899 times. Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. But Polloks defense lawyers, David B. Bertan and Jill R. Shellow, also argued she was severely victimized by Ray. Florida Republican Wants to Cancel Democrats Over Slavery. Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Pollok faces a maximum five-year sentence following her guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy. This story has been shared 104,452 times. The Key Moments From Alex Murdaughs Testimony and Murder Trial. In September, Isabella Pollok admitted to conspiring with Ray to commit money laundering. Assistant US Attorney Mollie Bracewell told Liman that prosecutors would have introduced a host of evidence if the case had gone to trial, including witness testimony and financial records, including ledgers that were recovered from Pollok. I am truly sorry, she said as her voice broke and she sobbed. He offered gold-wrapped candy bars in a stunt that showed he isnt a worthy successor to his dad. Isabella Pollok, and Claudia Drury. 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. Pollok was released on her current bail conditions Wednesday and will surrender to federal prison on April 25. The in-depth look at the shocking sex cult has gripped viewers. 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 . Pollok also wrote letters to the judge and prosecutors in her case. Alleged @SarahLawrence College sex manipulator, extortionist Larry Ray had a co-conspirator. "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. 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. The former Sarah Lawrence College student pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy in September. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence is streaming now on Hulu. A receipt corroborated Drurys testimony, and it was initialed by Ray and Pollok. RELATED: Mother And Her Son Murdered Her Husband As He Slept In Bed Over $1,500 Debt. By Dorian Geiger 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. 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. Santos Rosario and his siblings had a turbulent family life. Pollok, 31, who graduated from the Westchester County school where Ray met most of his victims, faced up to five years in prison. Despite the hype about Ron DeSantis surging past Donald Trump, both Republicans look unusually strong at this early stage of the presidential race. 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. 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. 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. She had hoped to change that next month, when Isabella's trial was set to start. 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. And tell him that no matter what happens or doesnt happen, in no way am I straying from the truth.. Pollok is currently being investigated as Ray's co-defendant, and prosecutors previously described her as Ray's "trusted lieutenant," per the New York Times. The city threw out a Democratic mayor for the first time in decades. Over the next two years, Pollok underwent psychological evaluations, changed attorneys, met with therapists, worked a steady job, and found a boyfriend. During her trial, Isabelle admitted to prosecutors that Talia and Ray had become her lifeline at Sarah Lawrence after Polloks tough childhood in Texas. 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. We've received your submission. 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. Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for a decades-long abuse scheme against Sarah Lawrence College students. She faces a maximum of five years in prison at her Feb. 22 sentencing. Ray, 62, drew the group of young adults into a cult-like family after moving into his daughters Sarah Lawrence dorm room 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. A U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentence to. Pollok has been charged as a codefendant of Lawrence Ray, the parent of a former student who was charged last year for allegedly psychologically, physically and sexually abusing his daughter's . Pollok was a quiet scholarship student from San Antonio, Texas, who didn't .
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