Robert Vaughn Young

Robert Vaughn Young (April 23, 1938 - June 15, 2003) commonly known by his initials RVY, was an American whistleblower against the Church of Scientology after working high inside their organization for over twenty years.

Of his years with the Church, Young said:

I have held nearly every type of position at every echelon. I have worked at the local, the regional, the national and the international levels. I have been a Scientology representative and spokesman before governmental bodies, the media and the courts. I have trained others on how to handle the media and governmental agencies. I have been the most senior public relations executive for Scientology world wide. I worked for years at the echelon that handles critics, "enemies," the media, judges, the courts and the government. I have been privy to documents and tactics of the most secret nature, including illegalities committed by Scientology executives and the means of cover-up.

He was a national spokesman for the church.

Young edited L. Ron Hubbard's ten-volume Mission Earth series. Young said that Hubbard had written the main text of the series, but that he had ghostwritten the introduction of each volume, as well as other writings in Hubbard's name.

After leaving the Church of Scientology in 1989, Young became prominent as an expert in court cases regarding Scientology such as CSI v. Fishman and Geertz, BPI v. FACTNet, the Lisa McPherson civil trial, cited by the press, and as an Internet-based critic of the organization. His ex-wife, Stacy Brooks, was a member of the Lisa McPherson Trust. This frequently resulted in tension with his former organization.

Young was diagnosed with prostate cancer on November 23, 1999 and turned his energies to Phoenix5, a non-profit organization that runs a website on the disease. He died on June 15, 2003.

• Young, Vaughn; Meldal-Johnsen, Trevor (1979). Interpol Connection: An Inquiry into the International Criminal Police Organization. Dial Press. ISBN 0-8037-4089-1.