SAN JOSE — A Los Gatos couple accused of sexually molesting a 9-year-old Russian orphan they adopted will be sentenced to lengthy prison terms under a plea deal announced Wednesday.
Ralph Flynn, 73, will be sentenced to 24 years after pleading no contest to three of the 44 molestation-related counts he faced under the plea deal negotiated by Santa Clara County deputy district attorney Oanh Tran. He was charged with sexually molesting the boy for 10 years, starting when he was 9, and pleaded to three acts of forcible lewd acts.
Ralph Flynn faced more than 200 years in prison if he had been convicted.
His much younger wife, Carolyn Flynn, 44, was accused of joining in the sexual abuse starting when the boy was 15. She faced at least 33 years in prison for 11 counts of rape, but under the plea deal will be sentenced to 12 years, her attorney Wes Schroeder said.
“It’s tragic we’re even having to deal with something like this,” Schroeder said.
Ralph Flynn has been in custody since he was arrested in November 2015.
Carolyn Flynn will be remanded after the Nov. 2 sentencing hearing.
The abuse came to light after the victim, identified by the prosecutor as Denis Doe, confided in his former middle-school principal, who reported it to police.
At first, the victim was reluctant to help out because he had no financial means of his own and couldn’t leave home, Tran said. But he eventually became very cooperative, she said.
“He’s a real survivor,” Tran said. “Now he has a girlfriend and a job and a place to live. He’s really picked himself up.”
The plea deal spares him from having to testify, Tran noted.
“It was a great resolution,” Tran said. “We essentially have a life sentence for Ralph Flynn and a long prison sentence for his wife.”
