A Nebraska man faces federal charges for allegedly using nude photos of a legislative candidate’s wife as blackmail to try to derail the political campaign.
That man is Dennis Sryniawski of Bellevue. He has been charged with cyberstalking and threats with intent to extort.
An indictment alleges that Sryniawski sent threatening and sexually explicit emails to Diane Parris, who was serving as campaign manager for her husband, Jeff Parris when he ran for the Nebraska Legislature in 2018.
Parris had not seen or talked to her ex-husband since 1994.
“I felt dirty. Knowing someone would keep my picture that long. Why would they do that?” said Parris.
The emails from the Nebraska man demanded that Jeff Parris drop out of the race and included a nude photo of her.
Police told her they couldn’t do anything, because at the time revenge porn wasn’t illegal.
“Why would we punish someone else because they took your mistake and capitalize on it?” said Parris.
Because of Parris’ husband’s job, the FBI stepped in.
“We did not expect the charge for cyberstalking, it was so relieving to see that there,” said Parris.
Parris took a stand last year at the Capitol for a bill that would make revenge porn illegal. It passed.
“I want women to know it’s not their fault if they speak out. Now that there is a law banning this, now that it’s a crime hopefully they can find more resources than we did,” said Parris.
