Who Survived Larry Ray’s Cult, Where Is He Now?

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Who is Daniel Levin?

When Daniel first started attending classes at Sarah Lawrence University, he befriended Talia Ray and several other people who moved into Slonim Woods 9, a cooperative living unit located on the university’s campus. Other residents of the unit include several other people. Talia’s father, Lawrence Ray, moved in with them in 2010, and he often regales them with stories from his past and steak dinners. Talia moved in with her parents in 2010. At first, Daniel was a bit taken aback by Ray, and Ray’s wild stories about his past only served to heighten Daniel’s perception of him as an oddball. individual.

Peacock’s true crime documentary titled “Sex, Lies and The College Cult” revisits the shocking story of how Larry Ray, a father and professional con man, “brainwashed Sarah Lawrence students College to a sexually abusive cult that changed their lives, and the lives of their families.” Sex, Lies and The College Cult is produced by Peacock.In the documentary, some of Ray’s victims share their accounts of how Ray’s manipulative tactics led to a decade of abuse, extortion, sex trafficking , and forced labor against them. These crimes occurred as a direct result of Ray’s actions.

According to the New York Times, a strange chain of events began in 2010 when Ray was released from a prison in New Jersey. At the time, he served time on charges related to a child custody dispute, and his release marked the beginning of a strange series of events. At the time, prosecutors said Ray moved into his daughter Talia Ray’s dorm room at Sarah Lawrence, located in Westchester County north of New York City. Ray has been accused of likening himself to the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius.

Former students claim that Ray often shared dramatic stories about his alleged military exploits and law enforcement connections. They also said that Ray described a philosophy of life referred to as “Quest for Potential.” He allegedly took advantage of his victims by posing as a guide, separating students from their families, forcing them to engage in humiliating behavior, and extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from them. He also allegedly manipulated his victims by presenting himself as a mentor.

The subsequent indictment as well as evidence presented at trial indicated that Ray subjected his victims to physical abuse as well as sexual and psychological manipulation. Allegedly, his tactics included depriving his victims of sleep, humiliating them psychologically and sexually, committing verbal abuse, making threats of physical violence, committing physical violence , threatening criminal legal action, and exploiting their mental health vulnerabilities. Moving around New York, North Carolina, and New Jersey, Ray controlled where his victims went, who they talked to, what they ate, and even where they slept. He will use this control over his victims in different ways.

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According to an explanation given by United States Attorney Damian Williams in April 2022, “He met a group of friends who had their whole lives ahead of them.” “Over the next ten years, he tried to exercise power over their lives through the use of physical force, psychological coercion, and threats. He took advantage of them. They were terrified of him. He subjected them to great pain. I want to make this absolutely clear. Larry Ray is a dangerous hunter. An evil individual who engages in evil activities.

According to prosecutors, Ray’s modus operandi consisted of forcing his victims to make false confessions about the harm they caused to him, his family, and associates, and then extorting payment for the alleged injuries by using the gas lighting tactic. His accusations against his followers included everything from vandalizing property to trying to poison him. His followers were accused of everything. Subsequently, victims will take drastic measures to make their payments, such as draining their parents’ savings, opening lines of credit, selling real estate, doing unpaid labor, and engaging in prostitution.

During his trial, one of his female victims described how he began sexually grooming her while she was still in college and how he then manipulated her into performing commercial sex acts in exchange for for a debt that he did not owe to her. He allegedly once tied her to a chair, placed a plastic bag over her head, and nearly suffocated her in an attempt to force her into prostitution. This is in addition to the fact that he collected sexually explicit photographs and other personal information. After all was said and done, her lawyers claimed she made millions of dollars from the proceeds of forced prostitution.

What Happened To Them?

Meanwhile, Ray’s defense attorneys argued that he was involved in a delusional group created by his daughter’s friends and associates, some of whom suffered from mental illness, to create of a “fantastic conspiracy” against him. They argued that Ray had been led astray by this delusional group of his daughter’s colleague.

In April 2022, following a federal trial that lasted four weeks, a New York jury convicted Ray of racketeering conspiracy, a felony in aid of racketeering, extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, tax evasion , and money laundering offenses after thinking for less than a day. The jury also found Ray guilty of a violent crime in aid of racketeering.

Ray, who was 62 years old when the sentence was handed down, was returned to the custody of the United States Marshals after the verdict was handed down. His sentencing was originally scheduled to take place in September 2022; however, the date was later moved to December 1. The penalties associated with each charge range from a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison to a possible maximum sentence of life behind bars. According to available public records, Ray is currently being held at the federal prison located in Brooklyn known as MDC Brooklyn while he awaits sentencing.

Williams went on to say, “The sentence handed down today brings him to justice at last.” “Without the victims testifying in court, this verdict would not have been possible.” Their courage in the face of such unimaginable adversity inspires us all.

Daniel was only 19 years old at the time, so it was natural for him to struggle with the problems young adults face every day. Daniel experienced a boost in self-esteem as a result of Ray’s unexpected ability to understand his problems and his subsequent help in solving them. Ray eventually moved into an apartment in New York City in 2011, and he extended an invitation to Talia and six of her friends, including Daniel, to live with him rent-free. At first, everything seems to work normally; however, Ray soon reveals his true nature and, at one point, severely reprimands Daniel for even scratching a pan.

In addition to witnessing Ray’s mental abuse and control over the other people in Daniel’s apartment, Daniel is also trained by the same man he once admired. Despite the fact that Ray promotes group sex culture and often forces Daniel to have sex with Isabella Pollock, another girl who lives in the same apartment as Daniel, he says that he just wants to teach Daniel how to please the women. In fact, Ray encouraged the culture of group sex. Sadly, escaping from Ray’s grasp was a challenging endeavor due to the fact that he was able to convince Daniel that the young man meant to hurt him and Talia.

At first Daniel believed the allegations, even though he knew they were baseless, and he worked hard to make amends. On the other hand, mental torture was quickly replaced by physical abuse; at one point, Daniel is impaled by an object sexually, and Ray also tortures him with an instrument he designed himself. Daniel was successful in severing all ties with Ray in the year 2013, whereupon he returned to the university campus to complete the academic requirements for his degree.

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Where Can Daniel Levin Be Found At This Time?

Daniel went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from the University of California, Irvine after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence University in 2013. During his time at UC Irvine, Daniel focused his studies in the study of contemporary poetry. After that, he continued to work for the Department of Education for the state of New York, and he even published his autobiography, Slonim Woods 9, in September of 2021. According to recent reports, Daniel quit his job in Department of Education and now makes his home in Los Angeles. There, he concentrates on advancing his career as a poet and hopes to reach greater heights in the near future.