Stolen Youth: Reaction
My co-worker suggested a true/crime documentary the other day called “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult At Sarah Lawrence”. Frankly, I do not watch true/crime documentaries frequently because of how deeply disturbing they can be. However, I do believe they can be instrumental in raising awareness if that purpose is at the forefront. This documentary in particular, stood out to me because of the story of one of the victims. Felicia Rosario was in the middle of completing her psychiatry residency program in Los Angeles when she came into contact with the man who would destroy her life, Larry Ray. Larry Ray was a master manipulator, a smooth talker, and thrived on exploiting his victim’s vulnerability.
Larry Ray inserted himself into the lives of his victims after being released from prison in 2010. His daughter, Talia, allowed him to crash at her dorm at Sarah Lawrence college. A dorm she was sharing with a number of other students. Days turned into weeks, and before they knew it, this ex-con became their ninth roommate. He went from sleeping on the couch to sleeping in his daughter’s room. Larry gained trust from the young adults by tapping into their trauma and though this connection, offered solutions. He made them believe he had the answers of how they would feel better and essentially fix their problems. Daniel, Santos, Isabella, and Claudia fell into his manipulative tactics. Larry had successfully extended his control beyond his own daughter. A year later, Ray convinced several of the students to live with him in a small one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. He extorted money from the students’ families and made some of them participate in prostitution and/or forced labor.
Santos introduced his two older sisters, Felicia and Yalitza, to Larry and they fell right into his trance as well. Felicia lived ten years of sexual, physical, and mental abuse at the hands of a sadistic madman. To me, one of the most disturbing scenes of the documentary, is when they go interview Felicia and Isabella. Isabella and Felicia were the last ones to stay living with him in a house in Piscataway, NJ. After an article exposing Larry’s sex cult came out in New York Magazine in 2019, the FBI raided Larry’s house and arrested him for sex trafficking and other charges. Subsequently, the producers of the documentary reached out to the two young women. Felicia’s demeanor is deeply disturbing. She talks about Larry as if he is a saint and fiercely defends him. This is all in the midst of her giving a tour of the house, which have horrible conditions. There is a lock on the fridge because Larry said they had to protect their food from someone coming and stealing it. The house was a mess and full of random tools. The carpet was ripped out. Anybody that is sane and goes to this house would be disturbed by the living conditions and question the sanity of anyone living there. Felicia was so far removed from reality. It was so hard to see her talk so highly of such an evil person, and even more after learning about all the sadistic things he did to her too. A whole doctor, specializing in psychiatry, and she fell into this man’s mind games. It is very scary to see how powerful and destructive a mind can be. Larry entranced these young individuals and exploited them for years.
If there is one thing that will stay with me after watching the documentary it is this: journalism goes a long way. Had it not been for the story that broke in 2019, perhaps this man would still be carrying out the abuse. Perhaps he would have expanded his cult and lured more students. You may be asking why the parents or families didn’t do anything to get law enforcement involved. The answer is they tried and nothing happened. The police stated they had no evidence against Larry and that since their sons/daughters were adults, there wasn’t anything they could do. For this reason, I believe journalism is extremely important in raising awareness and bringing about change.
It really makes you wonder how many Larry Ray’s are still out there roaming the streets. My hope is that anyone that watches it, is encouraged to love and protect themselves from situations where they could be manipulated or coerced. I hope they leave the abusive relationship they may be in or potentially be in. I hope they seek help and that we don’t stop speaking up until something is done.
SN: This post was hard to write because of the subject matter. With this in mind, nothing will remediate the pain and trauma these individuals experienced and are left with. My heart goes out to everyone that has suffered any kind of abuse and continues to go unnoticed. May their suffering come to an end sooner than later.
