Williams thanked the victims who spoke in court, noting the verdict wouldn’t have been possible without their testimony. “We are in awe of their bravery in the face of incredible trauma,” he added.
CNN has reached out to Ray’s attorney, Marne Lenox, for comment.
- Racketeering conspiracy
- Conspiracy to commit extortion
- Extortion
- Sex trafficking
- Obtaining forced labor
- Forced labor trafficking
- Conspiracy to obtain forced labor
- Violating the Travel Act
- Four counts of tax evasion
- Money laundering
The sex trafficking conviction comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.
He extorted payments from victims after getting them to make false confessions about causing damages to him, his family and associates, according to the indictment. Victims drained their parents savings, opened credit lines and sold real estate ownership to pay Ray. He also directed the victims to do unpaid labor for him and earn money for him through prostitution.
Ray forced one woman to engage in commercial sex acts to pay damages to Ray — money she never owed, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Ray groomed her when she was a college student and collected sexually explicit photos and other information to coerce her to commit more commercial sex acts, the office said.
In one instance of Ray’s alleged brutality, he tied the woman to a chair, put a plastic bag over her head and nearly suffocated her, according to the indictment. He collected millions of dollars of forced prostitution proceeds from this victim, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
Quoted from Various Sources
Published for: The Bloggers Briefing