A woman once believed to be a victim in a college sex trafficking case has now been charged in it
Isabella Pollok has been charged with one rely every of racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy and cash laundering, in accordance to the indictment from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that was unsealed on January 29.
A lawyer for Pollok declined to remark to CNN.
The indictment alleges that over the course of about a decade, Ray and Pollok “attempted to gain the trust of the Victims before psychologically manipulating and controlling them for the success and furtherance” of the group’s “ideology and the financial gain of its members.”
The preliminary indictment towards Ray in February 2020 didn’t record Pollok as a defendant or victim.
Ray moved into on-campus housing along with his daughter and her roommates throughout their sophomore 12 months in late 2010 and started “therapy” classes with some roommates in which he introduced himself as a father determine who might resolve their psychological issues, his authentic indictment states.
According to January paperwork, he recruited Pollok in the scheme to achieve the belief of scholars, alienate them from their dad and mom after which manipulate them for his or her monetary achieve.
That manipulation included coercing the scholars into false confessions of crimes similar to poisoning Ray and or discovering humiliating details about the scholars and blackmailing them with that data, the indictment mentioned.
In some instances, it even included compelled labor and sex trafficking, in accordance to the indictment.
“College is supposed to be a time of self-discovery and new-found independence,” Geoffrey Berman, the Manhattan US lawyer mentioned on the time. “But as alleged, Lawrence Ray exploited that vulnerable time in his victims’ lives through a course of conduct that shocks the conscience.”
Lawyers for Ray didn’t return CNN’s request for remark Monday.
While Pollok is listed solely by her first title in the New York Magazine article, her identification was confirmed in a New York Times article this month.
The college a few of the victims attended was not named in the January indictment, however a spokeswoman for Sarah Lawrence College confirmed in 2020 that Ray was the daddy of a former pupil.
“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,” spokeswoman Patricia Pasquale mentioned on the time.
Sarah Lawrence College didn’t reply to CNN’s request for remark Monday on Pollok and the January indictment.
