San Jose man serially abused by adoptive parents gets $28 million judgment

A San Jose man who was sexually abused for years by his adoptive parents once contemplated taking a $40,000 settlement offer, unsure if the court would rule in his favor at a trial.

On Monday, he learned that he’d been awarded a $28 million judgment.

Denis Flynn, 27, said his lawyer called him that night and told him to look at his email. Flynn almost passed out when he saw the decision. But the money is not the most important thing, he said.

“This was never about the money. I needed to tell my truth, and the wrong thing to do would have been to continue to suffer,” Flynn said. “When I got that email, all my doubt went away. The law had stated that I did the right thing by coming forward.”

Flynn was 9 when Ralph and Carolyn Flynn adopted him from an orphanage in north Russia and moved him into their luxurious Los Gatos home. Soon after, his father began molesting Flynn, at times on a daily basis. Later, his mother molested him, too.

The abuse went on for 10 years, ending when Denis Flynn was 19. One day, he said, he refused Ralph Flynn’s demands, and his father hit him. Ralph Flynn left the home for a while and the abuse ended.

Denis Flynn eventually reported the abuse and a criminal investigation was opened. In 2017, Ralph Flynn was sentenced to 24 years in prison; Carolyn Flynn received a 12-year sentence.

Meanwhile, Denis Flynn’s attorneys filed a civil suit. That case went to trial in Santa Clara County Superior Court on May 20 this year, under Judge Brian Walsh and with no jury.

After trial, Walsh issued an Aug. 2 decision that found Carolyn and Ralph Flynn liable on six causes: human trafficking; sexual assault and battery; childhood sexual abuse; sexual exploitation of a child; production, transmission and possession of child pornography; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Ralph Flynn is liable for $17 million in punitive damages, while Carolyn Flynn is liable for $11 million in punitive damages.

Ralph Flynn, second from right, speaks with his attorney in 2016.

Photo: James Tensuan / Special to The Chronicle

Ralph Flynn chose to represent himself, but he failed to appear in court to mount a defense. Carolyn Flynn appeared through attorneys.

Among other defenses made by her legal team, Carolyn Flynn’s attorneys argued that she was “financially destitute” as a result of legal expenses, a claim the judge found dubious. He cited Carolyn and Ralph Flynn’s lavish lifestyle — they owned a grand home with a lake view, drove a Rolls-Royce, and hosted extravagant parties. By all indications, they lived the “high life,” he wrote.

Walsh’s decision said Denis Flynn thought he had found “paradise” after the Flynns adopted him and relieved him of the “misery” he faced at orphanages in Russia. “Instead, he encountered another form of the same hell from which he thought he had been rescued,” the judge said.

Denis Flynn was 7 when his mother died. He and his sister were sent to an orphanage where Flynn slept on a thin mattress in a room with 30 other children and showered once a week. Eventually, his sister was sent to an institution for older children. He never saw her again.

Since coming forward, Flynn has reconnected with his sister by phone and on Facebook. He wants to use some of his settlement money to visit Russia to see her and to visit his mother’s grave. A chiropractor, Flynn also wants to start his own physical and mental-healing business.

Most importantly, he hopes his legal victory helps other abuse victims take their lives back.

“It’s a big challenge,” he said. “Be prepared to face everything, be prepared to face the sadness, to face the anger, and to face the doubt. But it’s worth it, because I can look up at the sky right now and enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the wind, and the way water looks, and hear the birds. To regain your life is just priceless.”

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