Ryan Hemphill, 44, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a new 41-count indictment as prosecutors revealed a seventh woman had come forward with allegations of torture and sexual assault.
Hemphill, already jailed on Rikers Island on a 116-count indictment, was hit with the fresh charges in Manhattan Supreme Court after the latest victim recognized news coverage of his earlier case and reported her own ordeal, according to prosecutors. The new charges include rape and predatory sexual assault.
The latest victim met Hemphill on the SugarDaddy dating app and arrived at his Midtown apartment in spring 2024 expecting payment for sex, Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer told the court. Instead, she endured seven hours of abuse that included being tied to his bed, burned with a hot object, and forced to wear an electric shock collar on her neck.
“He threatened her with a knife to keep her from resisting,” Curzer said in court. “He also forced her into the bathtub where he repeatedly held her head in the water, pulling her up right before she lost consciousness, and then went to submerge her again and again.”
The ordeal ended with Hemphill allegedly forcing her to record a video stating she wanted to be raped, a tactic prosecutors said he used with multiple victims.
“The video itself shows how false that is,” Curzer added. “The victim is clearly terrified and [he is] actively abusing her while she speaks.”
Prosecutors allege Hemphill kept such recordings as trophies and used them to intimidate his victims into silence. He also sent threatening text messages and claimed connections to organized crime and law enforcement that made him “powerful and untouchable,” Curzer told the courtroom.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg addressed the survivor’s decision to come forward despite these alleged threats.
“I am grateful for this survivor’s bravery in coming forward, despite the defendant’s alleged attempts to convince her that a coerced videoed statement would make him impossible to prosecute,” Bragg said.
Hemphill, the son of a prominent neurologist, was arrested in March 2025 after investigators allegedly discovered dozens of videos of women, surveillance cameras, drugs, and high-capacity ammunition in his possession. The original indictment covered alleged assaults on six women between October 2024 and March 2025 involving cattle prods, shock collars, and waterboarding.
In court Tuesday, Hemphill appeared unfazed by the expanded charges, wearing rosary beads around his neck and greeting a photographer with apparent cheerfulness.
“Nice to see you again,” he said.
Hemphill’s history includes a 2013 case in which he was found not guilty of choking and assaulting his then-girlfriend during an incident involving a knife. Bragg called the current allegations “absolutely horrific.”
Prosecutors also allege Hemphill paid some victims with counterfeit cash or failed to pay them at all after the assaults.
Hemphill remains locked up on Rikers Island as the case proceeds through Manhattan Supreme Court.