Butler man sentenced in revenge porn case involving his ex-girlfriend

A Western Pennsylvania man who sent nude images of a local woman to two other men was sentenced Friday to serve up to 23 months in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

Roy John Yanvary, 45, of Butler, previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of distributing obscene materials and illegally disseminating an intimate image. Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough imposed the sentence Friday, ordering Yanvary to serve one to 23 months in the county jail followed by two years of probation.

During the hearing, the victim — Yanvary’s ex-girlfriend — read an impact statement describing the humiliation and trauma she has experienced and the uncertainty she feels about the prospect that the revenge porn images could now be circulating online.

“I’ve worked very hard to achieve everything I have in my life, both professionally and personally, and as a mother, I am terrified that these images will be held over my head for the rest of my life — and I didn’t even know they existed,” said the woman, who is not being identified because of the nature of the case.

The woman dated Yanvary for about 10 months, and her statement detailed a pattern of abuse she experienced during that time.

Prosecutors said the images were taken without her permission while she was sleeping, and that she was unaware they existed until the recipients brought them to her attention.

Yanvary told investigators he didn’t remember sending over a dozen nude images of his ex-girlfriend but that he “must have been drunk” and angry when he did so.

“I am a very private person and I hate having my photo taken. It’s something I’ve struggled with my entire life,” the woman said. “The scars that I have are invisible from this particular instance of abuse by his hand. You cannot see the emotional, reputational and scars of mistrust that fester beneath the surface. I relive the abuse in my head every day, and I firmly believe I have [post-traumatic stress disorder] because of it.”

Judge Vough allowed Yanvary — who has already been locked up for nearly five months — to be immediately eligible for work-release and directed that he be paroled once he provides probation officers with an approved home address.

Yanvary was barred from contacting the victim.