Billy Zane: ‘Devil on Campus’ portrays ‘sociopath’ sex cult leader

(NewsNation) — A new movie is digging deep into the decadelong physical and psychological abuse inflicted by the now convicted Larry Ray.

Billy Zane and Elisabeth Rohm, who star in the new Lifetime movie “Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story,” joined NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” on Friday to discuss the horrors detailed in their newest project.

Rohm, executive producer, director and actress for the movie, attended Sarah Lawrence, the college where the abuse began.

‘Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story’

“I just was so shocked that [the college] would have let this slip under the radar … it’s not to slam Sarah Lawrence, but it’s to make all of us adults who are responsible for our young people more responsible,” Rohm said.

Rohm described the movie as a “cautionary tale” for students and parents alike.

Zane, who plays Ray in the movie, talked about their sensitive handling of the subject matter while making their “portrait of a sociopath.” He mentioned being grateful for a lack of gore and graphic sexual content, especially in regards to the young victims who he called extremely bright.

“What fascinated me most was how susceptible intelligent people can be,” Zane said. “How quick [they are] to abandon their agency, and the cycle of trauma, you know, what led to this man making these decisions.”

“These students in particular, they were so smart. They weren’t fools. He was a mastermind,” Rohm added.

Larry Ray’s crimes

Lawrence “Larry” Ray victimized students at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester County, New York, for nearly a decade. The abuse began inside his own daughter’s dorm room on campus, where he was staying after his 2010 release from prison on federal securities fraud.

Once living in the dorms, he began befriending his daughter’s friends. One of the victims said he “was like the dad, and would always be cleaning.”

But Ray was only friendly for so long. Soon, he’d use their newfound closeness to take sexual photos of the friends, using violence and psychological manipulation to force them into prostitution.

He trafficked, extorted and abused his victims — mostly college students — along with forcing labor and money laundering.

The victims made payments to Ray from their parents’ savings, opened up credit cards and repaid money through prostitution, earning Ray approximately $1 million in total from at least five of his victims.

Pilar Melendez, senior national reporter at “The Daily Beast,” told Abrams that Ray looked weak on the courtroom stand, despite documented abuse demonstrating his physical strength and intimidating nature. 

“These videos are extremely harrowing. They show him being aggressive and loud and extremely horrible. And these witnesses would come in and not be able to look at him, look terrified,” Melendez recounted. “And then you’d see him at the defense table and he’d look like a little old man. So it was very jarring.”

He was sentenced to 60 years in prison in January 2023.

Cult deprogramming

Cult deprogrammer and specialist Rick Alan Ross and former NXIVM sex cult member Sarah Edmondson joined “Dan Abrams Live” to discuss their insight on victims and cult mindsets, noting how anyone can be taken advantage of.

“The thing I like to really express to people is it’s often a situational vulnerability … People don’t join a cult on purpose, they join something good,” Edmonson said.

It’s only when members have become invested that the tone might shift.

If you or someone you love notices cultlike tendencies, Ross recommends sitting down and getting educated on the manipulation tactics used in most destructive cults.

The main characteristics include a dictatorial leader who uses identifiable, coercive persuasion techniques and causes harm to the members.