By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A U.S. citizen was convicted Wednesday of sex traficking and other offenses for forcing a group Sarah Lawrence College students to do unpaid work including prostitution.

Lawrence Ray, aged 62, was charged with using threats and physical violence to extract payments from Sarah Lawrence students. Sarah Lawrence is a private college north of New York City. Prosecutors said Ray moved in to his college room as a dormitory student in 2010.

Ray was arrested in 2020. Ray pleaded guilty to charges of extortion as well forced labor and money laundering. After a one-month trial at Manhattan Federal Court, where several victims gave evidence, Ray was convicted.

Ray would force one victim of prostitution to perform sex commercially and make Ray more than $500,000 from her profits, according to the prosecution. Ray captured explicit images of her, and nearly choked her once in an attempt to get her to do the same acts.

According to prosecutors, he used psychological and physical abuse as well to persuade three more female victims to do unpaid work.

Larry Ray is a predator. A man of evil intent who committed evil acts. “Today’s verdict finally brings Him to Justice,” Damian Williams (the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan) said in a statement.