The father of a former student at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers is facing a federal indictment that outlines the alleged sex trafficking and extortion of her friends.

The charges against 60-year-old Lawrence Ray, of New Jersey, were announced by U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman at a news conference in Manhattan.

Ray, also known as Ray Grecco, allegedly used physical and psychological threats and coercion to indoctrinate and exploit a group of college students, both male and female. According to federal investigators, the alleged manipulation and abuse took place over a decade as Ray brainwashed his victims into obtaining money for him by draining their parents' savings, forced labor, prostitution and sex.

 

According to the charges, he extorted $1 million from at least five victims and forced at least one victim to engage in commercial sex acts.

Police say Ray then laundered the money into an online business. At one point, he lived in on-campus housing at Sarah Lawrence with his daughter and her male

According to the charges, he extorted $1 million from at least five victims and forced at least one victim to engage in commercial sex acts.

The indictment reads that police say the father allegedly subjected the victims to "interrogation sessions" filled with violence and verbal abuse in front of other victims to brainwash and exploit the students.

"On one occasion as alleged Ray tied his victim to a chair, placed a plastic bag over her head and almost suffocated her," says Berman.

Police say Ray then laundered the money into an online business.

Investigators say in 2010, Ray moved into his daughter's on-campus housing at Sarah Lawrence College. College officials tell News 12 their own investigation doesn't substantiate the claim.

Police say Ray continued to use verbal and physical abuse to control his young victims when they moved to a New York City apartment a short time later.

Many of the charges against Ray carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Ray's alleged crimes were chronicled in New York Magazine in April. The New York Times reported that law enforcement officials said that the article directly led to charges against Ray.

In a statement, the college says, "Sarah Lawrence College has just learned of the indictment of a former parent in the Southern District of New York. The charges contained in the indictment are serious, wide-ranging, disturbing, and upsetting. As always the safety and well-being of our students and alumni is a priority for the College. In April 2019, New York Magazine published a range of accusations about this former parent. At that time, the College undertook an internal investigation regarding the specific activities alleged in the article to have occurred on our campus in 2011; the investigation did not substantiate those specific claims. We have not been contacted by the Southern District of New York, but will of course cooperate in their investigation to the full extent of the law if invited to do so."

 

 Read the Indictment: