Prosecutors said that Mr. Ray, who was arrested in 2020 after the publication of a New York magazine article about him, studied cults and mind control, grooming his victims and bending them to his will. Over a decade, he abused a group of young people, gaining their trust and isolating them from their parents, the prosecutors added, then coerced them into making false confessions that he used as leverage to extort millions of dollars.
Four of Mr. Ray’s former followers testified during his trial, describing how he had won them over. He then made them feel worthless, they said, denigrating them and directing them to have sex with each other and with strangers. One of those former followers, Claudia Drury, has said that Mr. Ray forced her into prostitution and on at least one occasion touched her sexually. Another, Felicia Rosario, testified that she at one point had a romantic relationship with Mr. Ray. The trial did not include any allegation that he had committed sexual assault.
On Friday, Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Federal District Court in Manhattan sentenced Mr. Ray to 60 years in prison …..Continue reading
