Rapist (79) died alone in custody after family not notified of stroke, investigation finds
Dan Flynn, a former farm labourer who lived in Tipperary, was sentenced to six years in prison with four years suspended in 2019 after pleading guilty to raping a child when he was 36 years old in 1979.
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The Court of Appeal subsequently found the sentence to have been 'unduly lenient', and said it had not 'come close to reflecting the gravity' of the offence, increasing it to five years.
The court said the rape had involved a troubling level of brutality and degradation, hearing that Flynn had thrown his victim onto his bed, telling her 'I have got you now' before raping her and spitting in her face.
The victim, who is now a married mother, told the court that he had stepped over her as she lay on the ground after the attack, 'as if I was nothing'.
Flynn was living in a community hospital for older people before he was jailed at the Midlands Prison in June 2019. He was suffering from Parkinson's disease and had complex medical needs.
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He was provided with a high-backed orthopaedic chair in his cell, and he received "round the clock" support from healthcare assistants in prison with his personal and hygiene needs as part of an advanced healthcare plan.
An investigation into Flynn's death by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) found that he was reported to be 'in good form' on the morning of October 8th, 2022, as he watched television in his cell.
After lunch, he was helped into bed in accordance with his daily routine, and appeared to be 'fine' when he got up again with the assistance of healthcare professionals around 2.15pm.
However, he was found 'slumped over' the arm of his chair around an hour later. He was unresponsive, and his face was slumped to one side, a nurse officer told OIP investigators.
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It was suspected that Flynn had suffered a stroke, and an ambulance was called. He was transferred to Naas General Hospital in the company of two prison escorts around 4pm.
Around midnight, Flynn was moved from the emergency department to the intensive care unit (ICU). When a prison officer took over escort duty at 7.15am the next day, they were told by colleagues that they hadn't expected the prisoner to survive the night.
At 8.25am, a doctor informed the prison escorts that Flynn had passed away.
A prison chaplain who started work at 8am made contact with Flynn's family around 8.30am, advising them that he had become ill and had been taken to Naas General Hospital.
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The chaplain was updated on the situation around 30 minutes later, and had to contact the family again to inform them that Flynn had died, according to the OIP investigation report, which did not identify the deceased by name.
The OIP noted that Irish Prison Service (IPS) protocol requires the families of inmates to be contacted 'in the quickest way possible' in the event of grave illness, so they have an opportunity to be with their loved ones.
The IPS accepted a recommendation that it should comply with this protocol in future.
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It also accepted a recommendation regarding the provision of working medical aids and appliances, after the OIP found that an air cushion supplied to Flynn for a bed sore on his buttock had been defective.
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Around a month later, he was found to have developed a second bed sore on the other buttock, and only then did a nurse observe that the air cushion was not working.
The OIP report noted that Flynn's family was 'upset' that they had not been informed when he was transferred from the Midlands Prison to Naas General Hospital. It offered its sincere condolences to the family on their loss.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
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