The story of the Sarah Lawrence sex cult that shocked everyone is coming to the small screen.
Premiering on Sept. 28 as part of Peacock's DocFest—a six-week virtual festival that will see the release of six brand new Peacock Original titles—Sex, Lies and the College Cult centers on father and alleged conman Larry Ray. Per the streamer, the documentary tells the true story of how Ray "brainwashed students of Sarah Lawrence College into an abusive sex cult that upended their lives and the lives of their families."
Told in some of the victims' own words, the feature-length film "chronicles decade-long abuse, extortion, sex trafficking and forced labor," Peacock's description continues. "Through dark and personal footage, a portrait of the world inside this group is revealed—all rooted in manipulation and dark secrets."
The official trailer for Sex, Lies and the College Cult (which you can watch below) starts to unfold the complex story, with one interviewee describing Ray as "a multifaceted human being [with] a lot of political collections."
Describing Ray's alleged interactions with a group of Sarah Lawrence students, another interviewee adds, "It was about using sex as sort of a tool to destabilize them, make them uncomfortable. It was a tactic." Or, as a different individual featured in the doc put it, Ray was "creating a whole new reality—which is what most cults end up doing."
Ultimately, of all the quotes gleaned from confessional interviews, perhaps the last one sums up Sex, Lies and the College Cult best: "This is the craziest story I've ever heard."
Many first learned of the story in 2019 when New York Magazine's The Cut published an article titled "The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence." The feature recounted how Ray moved into his daughter's dorm room at the New York-based college and began sexually and psychologically abusing a group of her fellow students. Ray was subsequently arrested in Feb. 2020 and charged with multiple offenses, including but not limited to sex trafficking and money laundering.
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said at the time, "Mr. Ray allegedly used his proximity to his victims to lay the groundwork for psychological conditioning, eventually leading several young adults to become unwitting victims of sexual exploitation, verbal and physical abuse, extortion, forced labor, and an egregious case of prostitution. For the better part of the last decade, we allege there was no limit to the abuse Ray's victims received, and there is no way of knowing the amount of damage he may have caused them in the years to come."
In April 2022, Ray was ultimately convicted on all 15 counts he faced.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams commended the verdict in a statement. "Twelve years ago, Larry Ray moved into his daughter's dorm room at Sarah Lawrence College," the April 6, 2022 statement read. "And when he got there, he met a group of friends who had their whole lives ahead of them. For the next decade, he used violence, threats, and psychological abuse to try to control and destroy their lives. He exploited them. He terrorized them. He tortured them. Let me be very clear. Larry Ray is a predator. An evil man who did evil things. Today's verdict finally brings him to justice."
Ray is due back in court for sentencing in Dec. 2022. He faces a maximum of life in prison.
Sex, Lies and the College Cult premieres Wednesday, Sept. 28 on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)