Operating out of the remote desert town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, is home to one of the most sadistic sex offenders law enforcement has ever encountered. He may also be one of the most prolific serial killers in the country. David Parker Ray may not instantly recognize Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer, but his unspeakable crimes have had a profound effect on the families of his victims, His ghost is equally heinous for the investigators who imprisoned him while working feverishly, and for the traumatized women who are lucky enough to survive. Ray’s long-hidden reign of terror is chronicled in this provocative and disturbing documentary, “Sex Chamber.”
A 59-year-old mechanic and father of two, Ray is widely regarded in his close-knit community as a very bright, cheerful and upstanding member. Of those who thought they knew him best, they were the least likely to classify him as a female sex abuser. The depths of a young prostitute’s psychosis were first revealed when he was found naked, chained and screaming hysterically for someone to call the police.
Her story is harrowing. She claimed to have been kidnapped by Lei and held in his home for three days, where she narrowly escaped death after being harassed and tortured repeatedly. When police searched Ray’s property, they found horrific surroundings that fully corroborated the victim’s story, including a tool shed where he kept a vast array of sophisticated sexual abuse tools.
What initially looked like an open case turned out not to be. Ray is good at covering his tracks. This talent served him well during the 40 years in which he probably confiscated, raped and murdered countless women. It is also believed that he overpowered his victims with a potent cocktail of memory-erasing drugs. That left glaring gaps in his accusers’ reports and gave him leeway to characterize each attack as consensual.
The filmmakers spoke with the original investigators who first stumbled across the torture chamber, the defense attorneys who continued to work for Ray despite determining his client was guilty, and key prosecution witnesses who struggled to tell harrowing details of their harassment in court .
The Sex Room is definitely not for the faint of heart as it contains explicit sexual language and graphic crime scene footage.
