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Goryl Family Reacts After Sentencings

HAZLETON — The parents of a man from Hazleton who was badly beaten in 2013 are disappointed with his attackers’ sentences, but say they are moving f...

HAZLETON -- The parents of a man from Hazleton who was badly beaten in 2013 are disappointed with his attackers' sentences, but say they are moving forward.

The Goryl family says it has been a long two years since Andrew "A.J." Goryl was beaten and left unconscious on a dark street in Hazleton.

In that time, Goryl, now 35, has been in rehab, learning to walk, talk, and eat again.

Now, the two men from Hazleton charged with attacking Goryl have been sentenced.

"When I seen them, I kind of got like the chills. It was the first time I've seen the both of them together and I was afraid. I even told her, 'I don't know how I'm going to react,'" said Andrew Goryl, A.J.'s father.

On Tuesday, a Luzerne County judge gave Ronald Tavarez six months of house arrest and probation.

Roberto Plasencia got probation.

The Luzerne County DA's office said that due to the fact that the charges were misdemeanors and the suspects had no priors, they were sentenced to house arrest and probation.

Neither man was sentenced to any time behind bars and while the Goryls said they understand, it is a difficult pill to swallow.

"For two years, my son laid in the bed fighting for his life and these guys were up and on the streets, carrying around and having a good time. That bothered me and it still does and it's going to bother me until A.J. is hopefully back to where he's supposed to be," said Andrew Goryl.

"I'm glad it's over. I am. I just, I'm not used to all this going on and I'm just glad now that A.J.'s doing better. That's all I was worried about, that he just could get better," said Carol Goryl, A.J.'s mother.

A.J. Goryl is home with his parents again and they said he is doing remarkably well, even well enough to go to court for the sentencing with his parents.

"Him walking down that aisle made a big difference in that courtroom because everybody's head turned when they saw him coming in there, made a big difference," said Andrew Goryl.

According to investigators, Tavarez and Plasencia attacked Goryl after an altercation and later, dragged him down the street, stole some of his belongings and burned them so he could not be identified.

Goryl's parents said with the sentencings behind them, they will move on as a family and come out stronger in the end.

"There's nothing we can do about it so we just go on. We're not going to let them win. No way," said Carol Goryl.

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