Ryan Hemphill, a New York City private equity executive and licensed attorney, stands accused of committing “grotesque sexual violence” against six women, according to Manhattan prosecutors. The shocking allegations include rape, torture, and coercion inside his Manhattan apartment, just steps from the Empire State Building.
Hemphill, 43, pleaded not guilty on Thursday, April 24, 2025, to a 116-count indictment charging him with predatory sexual assault, bribery, witness intimidation, and related crimes. Prosecutors allege he punched, waterboarded, and used a cattle prod on his victims — recording the attacks as trophies.
If convicted, Hemphill faces the possibility of life in prison.
Disturbing Allegations Unveiled
During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer told the court that Hemphill posed as a wealthy “sugar daddy” on dating websites to lure women. He allegedly promised large payments for companionship and sex — offers he often did not fulfill, sometimes paying victims with counterfeit money.
Once gaining their trust, Hemphill allegedly coaxed women into revealing past sexual traumas — which he then sadistically reenacted during assaults. According to prosecutors, Hemphill drugged, restrained, beat, and electrically tortured the victims, often wrapping their heads in duct tape and shackling them for hours.
Investigators said they recovered footage from Hemphill’s surveillance-filled apartment, depicting dozens — possibly hundreds — of other women, many naked and blindfolded. Along with the videos, authorities seized hundreds of bullets, high-capacity magazines, and illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, and fentanyl.
Threats, Coercion, and Bribery
Hemphill is accused of using intimidation tactics to silence his victims, allegedly claiming ties to organized crime and law enforcement. Prosecutors say he forced victims to record videos falsely stating they consented to the abuse and even attempted to bribe one woman with $2,000 to withdraw her police complaint.
“This defendant wielded his law degree and wealth as both a sword and shield, silencing and coercing his victims,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
In 2015, Hemphill was previously acquitted in a separate case where he was accused of choking an ex-girlfriend — admitting at trial that he enjoyed strangulation during sex.
Bail Denied, Flight Risk Cited
Judge Ann E. Scherzer ordered Hemphill to be held without bail, citing his substantial financial resources and history of attempting to intimidate witnesses as evidence that he posed a significant flight risk.
Scherzer rejected Hemphill’s request to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility for substance abuse treatment, emphasizing that his alleged actions demonstrated “an extent to which he is willing to go to protect himself from facing these charges.”
The arraignment took place just down the hall from Harvey Weinstein’s retrial, a striking coincidence highlighting Manhattan’s ongoing reckoning with powerful men accused of sexual violence.
