Shraman Mitra
Peacock’s ‘Sex, Lies and the College Cult’ and Hulu’s ‘Stolen Youth’ is a chilling documentary that details how Lawrence “Larry” Ray moved into his daughter’s dorm at Sarah Lawrence University, started a sex cult, and forced some of the residents to do his bidding. Although he initially convinced others to join his orbit, he soon resorted to threats, torture, as well as physical and mental abuse to keep them under his control. Moreover, the people in his sex cult were brainwashed to believe they had harmed him.
Likewise, Santos Rosario, a Sarah Lawrence University student, was initially quite impressed by Ray and even introduced him to his sisters, Felicia and Yalitza. However, this was a grave mistake as all three siblings were affected by Ray’s ways, that is, until he was arrested on sex trafficking and extortion charges.
Who Are Felicia and Yalitza Rosario?
Santos Rosario, a student at Sarah Lawrence University, first came across Lawrence Ray while dating his daughter, Talia. Surprisingly, Ray appeared to impress Santos quite a lot through their early interactions. Thus, believing him to be a positive influence, Santos introduced Ray to his sisters Felicia and Yalitza Rosario. At that time, while the latter was a student at Columbia University and of a similar age to Ray’s other victims, the eldest of the trio, Felicia, was a Harvard University and Columbia medical school graduate.
Reports mentioned that shortly after being introduced to Felicia, Ray embarked on a romantic relationship with her, which soon turned highly abusive. She was made to leave her job in Los Angeles and move in with him, his daughter, and his co-conspirator, Isabella Pollok, in a New York City apartment where she felt like a prisoner. The fact she was close to being a full-fledged doctor, only for that dream to be shattered continues to haunt her. Apart from not being allowed to go where she felt like, Ray controlled her every move and even forced her to sleep naked beside him and Isabella.
Moreover, Felicia was coerced to have sex with strangers, and Ray would often ask her to extend such a disturbing proposition to men she met in public places. Saying no to him was also quite impossible as he would resort to physical and mental torture until she was forced to give in. Moreover, in 2013, she was made to do free physical labor at his stepfather’s property in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and Ray would even often torture Santos in front of her to make the Harvard alumnus tow his line. Reports claim that this form of torture proved too much for Felicia, who even tried to take her own life.
On the other hand, Ray and his co-conspirators initially made Yalitza believe they were the friends she always deserved, just to soon turn her reality into a nightmare. The truth is she was mentally abused and made to feel low, including by Ray convincing her that she had destroyed his property and even tried to poison the group. While these allegations were false, Yalitza believed them at the time and was desperate to make amends to avoid jail time. Moreover, she joined the rest of the group at Ray’s stepfather’s property in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and later mentioned that her time at Pinehurst also drove her to attempt death by suicide. Eventually, in 2016, she managed to come away from Ray and broke off all contact with him.
Felicia and Yalitza Rosario Are Moving on Today
After Ray’s arrest in 2020, Felicia and Yalitza, along with their brother, Santos, agreed to testify against their abuser in court. Their testimonies were honestly quite crucial as they took the jurors through their horrifying ordeals and helped send him to prison. When testifying back in March 2022, Yalitza mentioned that she was still disturbed by what Ray had done to her and the trauma often kept her from being productive.
Nevertheless, it seems like the sisters are gradually recovering from their dark past as Felicia accepted the role of Senior Associate at Princeton Consultants in July of 2022, while Yalitza is working as an artist. Moreover, the latter seemingly resides in Yonkers, whereas the IT & Management Consultant, Project Manager, and Data Scientist professional lives in New York City and has surrounded herself with friends and family. Felicia does hope to return to her passion of medicine one, but for now, she’s simply focusing om herself and her loved ones.
