SAN JOSE, Calif. — A man has filed a lawsuit against a California couple he says used him as a sex slave after adopting him from an orphanage in Russia at the age of 9.
Denis Flynn, 23, said his father, Ralph Flynn, would abuse him more and more frequently, and his mother, Carolyn Flynn, began abusing him when he turned 15. Denis Flynn spoke at a news conference on Wednesday in San Jose.
The couple was arrested in November and face multiple sex-abuse charges in Santa Clara County. They have not entered pleas.
The office of Ralph Flynn's criminal attorney, Steven Nakano, said there was a gag order in the case that would not allow the attorney to make any comment.
Carolyn Flynn's attorney, Wesley Schroeder, said he could not comment on the particulars of the case. Carolyn Flynn is charged with 10 counts, including incest and unlawful intercourse. Ralph Flynn faces more than 40 counts, including continual sexual abuse.
"I just cannot emphasize enough that due process and having a fair and impartial hearing are vital," Schroeder said.
Denis Flynn said he was living a fantasy when he first came to the couple's home in the tony city of Los Gatos after three years at an orphanage. He had his own bed and television and "fantastic food."
But that ended a few months later when the abuse began, he said.
He said he wants other victims to know they have a voice and did nothing wrong. "Hopefully, I can inspire some inner courage to speak out," he told the San Jose Mercury News.
