Sarah Lawrence sex-cult psych fight

An ugly fight is brewing over the psychiatric records of victims of Lawrence Ray, who is accused of running a bizarre sex cult of Sarah Lawrence College students.

Ray, 61, is charged with psychologically manipulating a small group of young people, one of whom he forced into prostitution. Some of those victims attempted suicide while under Ray’s spell, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said during a hearing Friday.

According to Sassoon, while the victims were receiving mental health treatment, Ray persuaded them to exclude their parents from having input. Ray provided information to doctors and guided what victims shared with psychotherapists, the prosecutor stated.

Now, Ray’s defense team wants the records of at least two of his victims, outraging prosecutors who say it’s a blatant attempt to violate doctor-patient confidentiality.

“These victims were incredibly vulnerable, at the mercy of and being abused by Mr. Ray,” Sassoon said.

Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Liman struggled with the legal issues surrounding the records, in part because there’s evidence the victims shared details of their therapy with Ray. He has yet to rule on Ray’s demand for the records.

Ray, who was best man at former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik’s wedding, is accused of first recruiting victims at Sarah Lawrence when his daughter was a sophomore in 2010. Prosecutors say he initially targeted his daughter’s roommates.

The young adults were kept in his thrall through sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, verbal abuse and threats of violence, according to an indictment. He used victims’ compromising journal entries and explicit photos to keep them in his orbit, prosecutors charge. He’s pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan.