SAN JOSE — Denis Flynn speaks with confidence and fortitude that belie what he says was a decade of horror from which he is still recovering.
Flynn, who contends his childhood was destroyed by years of sexual servitude at the hands of the Los Gatos couple who rescued him from a Russian orphanage, is focused on looking forward. He wants to be a beacon for those who remain silent about suffering sexual abuse.
“I want people to know that what they did to me was wrong,” Flynn said. “I would like any other victims listening to this to know that they did nothing wrong. They have a voice. Hopefully I can inspire some inner courage to speak out.”
Flynn, 23, broke his public silence Wednesday about experiences that have led to his adopted parents, Ralph and Carolyn Flynn, facing dozens of charges that encompass allegations of continual sexual abuse, unlawful sexual intercourse and incest. The father faces 44 counts, 21 of which he is charged alongside his wife.
On top of the pending criminal case, Denis Flynn is also suing his parents in civil court for undisclosed damages. Attorney Richard Alexander did not mince words about what he believes his client is owed.
“Everything they own,” Alexander said, “constructively belongs to the young man.”
That includes the home on the southern tip of Los Gatos that authorities say was the backdrop for most of the abuse alleged against Ralph and Carolyn Flynn. The 3,400 square-foot home along the western edge of the Lexington Reservoir is valued at nearly $2 million and is currently listed for sale.
At a news conference at Alexander’s downtown San Jose office, Denis Flynn recounted how as a 9-year-old boy whisked from Russia after spending three years in an orphanage, his life had transformed overnight from a nightmare to fantasy.
“I had my own bed, my own TV, fantastic food. Things,” he said. “I was given a few months to enjoy this new life.”
Soon, a new nightmare took over, beginning with Ralph Flynn inviting his newly adopted son into a bedroom where he allegedly coerced the youth into performing sexual acts on him. Denis Flynn described it as a rude awakening but added that he felt powerless, particularly given where he had just come from in Russia.
“I knew in the beginning it was wrong, but fear took over,” he said, recalling how he told himself he was “not going back to the orphanage.”
The sexual encounters grew in frequency — “from three times a month to almost every day, to every morning, every afternoon, every evening” — and once he was 15, Carolyn Flynn became involved. Denis Flynn said his father had gradually tried to entice him about the idea of sex with an older woman beforehand.
In an interview with Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Denis Flynn would tell detectives: “That was my first time. That was a mind trip as well. I lost my virginity to my mom.”
All the while, Ralph and Carolyn Flynn had a biological son who was apparently unaware of the purported abuse at the home. Denis Flynn, who said he still considers him his brother, spoke of how even on vacations, the sexual abuse would occur when the brother was out of the hotel room.
He said the sex acts didn’t always come by outright coercion, but by subtler means: Video games, time off from school, being freed from household chores. The abuse stopped when he turned 19, he said. Incidentally, detectives have linked Ralph Flynn to another abuse allegation — that hasn’t been charged — involving a boy he adopted in 1972, with the potential victim saying it stopped once he became of college age.
The emotional toll accumulated: Denis Flynn tried to commit suicide several times, according to police records. He reportedly told a psychologist about the abuse in 2012, which was likely the first time he told anyone, and the psychologist reported the claim to the Sheriff’s Office. The claim was vetted, but knowing Denis Flynn had said at the time he did not want to seek prosecution, the case was referred to the detective bureau.
Denis Flynn eventually confided in a friend, and as he established distance from his parents and gained strength from a healing-oriented circle — he currently works as a massage therapist — he came forward to authorities in August.
It was a difficult moment for the young man, who said he had been conditioned to never tell police about the sexual acts. The investigation included a pretext phone call with detectives that implicated his parents, and resulted in the November arrests of Ralph and Carolyn Flynn.
Upon their arrests, Ralph Flynn quickly admitted to the abuse and even wrote an apology letter to his adopted son, stating that he was “blinded by my affection” and “I regret everything and wish we could start over anew.” Carolyn Flynn denied the allegations against her. Ralph Flynn, 71, is being held in the Elmwood Correctional Complex on $2.5 million bail, while Carolyn Flynn, 47, is out of custody after posting bond on $525,000 bail.
A judge has issued a gag order barring attorneys from discussing the case with the media.
Denis Flynn told detectives that he did not hate his parents and wanted to move on from the experience, and start over with his new life.
“I had to re-learn what love really is,” he said. “I’m still processing it. This is a lifelong journey.”
Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.
