When Lawrence Ray moved into his daughter’s dorm at Sarah Lawrence College in September of 2010, he had just been released from prison. He needed a place to stay, and his daughter’s housemates seemed “mostly unfazed”, The Cut would report in April of 2019. But Ray’s time at Sarah Lawrence, a liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, took a dark turn – one that eventually saw him accused of exploiting students on the campus in the manner of a cult leader, and convicted on charges including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor, and extortion.
Sex, Lies and The College Cult, a new Peacock documentary, takes a closer look at Ray’s wrongdoings. Set to air on Wednesday (28 September), it promises “the shocking and unnerving true story of how a father and professional conman … brainwashed students of Sarah Lawrence College into an abusive sex cult that upended their lives, and the lives of their families.” Ray’s trial took place between March and April of this year.
