Introducing: Devil in the Dorm

A new series written by the creators of The Shattered Window and Law&Crime's Adam Klasfeld. Featuring the voices of Paula Barros from Cold Case Files, Jilian Jalali from Court Junkie, and Mr Black Pasta. Edited by Brad Maybe.

In late 2010, a middle-aged man moved into his daughter's college dorm and created what has all the hallmarks of a cult. Over the decade that followed, he extorted millions of dollars from vulnerable young adults through violence, psychological torture, and forced sex work. Actress and Director Elisabeth Rohm narrates Law&Crime's 6-part investigative series, which draws from thousands of pages of transcripts, exhibits, audio files, and video recordings from a federal trial and explores the actions and motives of Larry Ray. This is Law&Crime’s Devil in the Dorm.

https://wondery.com/shows/devil-in-the-dorm/

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The Long Crime Network has a newpodcast series out now exclusively on Wondery Plus
called Devil in the Dorm. Ico wrote the series along with Eileen MacFarlane,
my co host of The Shattered Window, and Adam class Field of the
Law and Crime Network. Devil inthe Dorm is about a man named Lowery
Ray who moved into his daughter's collegedorm at Sarah Lawrence and spent the next

(00:22):
decade controlling her friends under what manyhave described as a sex cult. This
six part podcast series was composed fromthousands of pages of a federal trial transcript
and is hosted by an actress whoactually went to Sarah Lawrence College, Elizabeth
Rome. There are no cameras oraudio recordings permitted in federal court, so

(00:43):
all if the testimony has been recreatedby some of the biggest true crime content
creators. Devil in the Dorm exploreshow, over the course of almost ten
years, Larry Ray extorted millions ofdollars from the young students while abusing them
physically, it's actually and psychologically.During that time, Larry Ray drove several

(01:04):
members of his group to the brinkof suicide, and, according to at
least one a cooint pushed one ofthem over the edge. You can listen
to Law and Crime Stabble in theDormnoy exclusively on Wandery Plus, find Wondery
Plus in the Wandery app or onApple Podcasts. Everything about the Sarah Lawrence

(01:27):
campus speaks to its uniqueness. Agreen lawnd Haven, forty five minutes north
of glass, concrete and steel NewYork City, It's nineteenth century Tudor Revival
architecture stands in a sharp contrast tothe towering skyscrapers just fifteen miles south.
The campus is surrounded by forty fouracres of lush woodland, shaded by oak,

(01:47):
maple, and cherry trees and wisteriavines on arbor. I often call
the college the Land of Broken Toys. If you struggle to function or fit
in anywhere else, Sarah Lawrence isthe perfect place for you. This is
the quality of Sarah Lawrence College thatLarry Ray exploited to create what is all
the hallmarks of a cult on campusin late twenty ten, Away again playing

(02:15):
fall don't get off me, Idon't want you touch me. I'm not
bullying. Where am I and Ican behave law I'm the law. The
guys I'm trying to talk to you. I'm going about to stop. I

(02:37):
don't want you to tell you ifthey stopped touching me. Stop pulling me,
stop slapping me, stop stratching me, stop bullying me. I'm shake
of it. Please just stop it, let me go. I don't want
you touching me. What do Ihave to do to thank you? Stop
it? My name is Elizabeth Rome. I'm an actress and a proud Sarah
Lawrence College graduate. In fact,I'm eternally grateful to Sarah Lawrence for who

(03:00):
I've become as a woman and asan artist. My mom went there,
I've served on the board, andI've even gone back and taught there.
For me, Sarah Lawrence College islike a unicorn in a world where education
isn't often uniquely formatted for creative childrenwith a lot of depth. One of
the school slogans is We're different,so are you? And I felt that
motto in my bones, So Ilook at me? Why are you?

(03:23):
Cryans? Who are you? Idon't want it? Why are you are?
Why are you? Ryan? Lookthis party? Jay? All your
Facebook friends? I don't want you. I don't want who want I?
Don't want to day those things.When I first learned that a man named
Larry Ray started what has been calleda cult that took root in my old

(03:43):
college, I was shocked, sickened, and disturbed. And it takes a
lot to disturb me. For fouryears, I played a Manhattan prosecutor on
the TV series Law and Order.And you also may have seen me in
David o' russell's black comedy American Hustleand Bombshell, a film about the sexual
harassment scant inside Fox News. Butnothing prepared me for the strange, twisted,
and sordid details of the Larry Raystory. Devil in the Dorm draws

(04:08):
from thousands of pages of transcripts,exhibits, audio files, and video recordings
from a federal sex trafficking trial.There are no cameras or audio recordings in
federal court, so all of thetestimony that you'll hear has been recreated by
actors. Prosecutors say Larry extorted thestudents of hundreds of thousands, and sometimes
millions of dollars, brutalizing them witha set of pliers, a hammer,

(04:30):
a belt, duct tape, andsimply with his fists. According to testimony,
from multiple victims in court. Overthe course of roughly a decade,
Larry would drive several students to thebrink of suicide, and, according to
at least one account, pushed oneof them over the edge. He would
make millions of dollars by forcing oneof the students into sex trafficking. Long

(04:53):
crimes podcast Devil in the Dorm exploreshow that happened and what became of him,
his followers, enablers, and asvictims. And I personally look into
the question I can't stop asking myselfas a parent, how did this slip
under the nose of the college?I love? This podcast contains themes and

(05:16):
descriptions of sexual assault, violence,suicide, and self harm. If these
are difficult topics for you, TheNational Suicide Prevention Hotline is now nine eight
eight and it can be dialed anywherein the United States. The lifeline provides
twenty four seven free and confidential supportfor people in distress, prevention in crisis
resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.