A gym owner has been jailed for two years and four months for the sexual assault of a woman who sought treatment for chronic back pain and for secretly filming over 30 other women topless as he gave them massages.
Shane Flynn, aged 35, with an address at Dalystown, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was the owner of the NGS gym in Mullingar, later rebranded as Recode, when the incidents happened.
Flynn had denied sexually assaulting the woman in January 2021, but he had admitted a second charge for offensive conduct of a sexual nature by making covert digital recordings of females without their knowledge or consent at his gym from July 2018 until August 2020.
The trial heard that Flynn secretly filmed 35 women topless as he gave them massages at his gym.
At sentencing today, the court heard how the father of one "unequivocally accepted the verdict of the jury" and was sorry and remorseful for his actions.
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However, Judge Ronan Munro said the "road to Damascus moment" had come very late in the process and after the victim had to go through a trial.
Judge Munro said it was clear what happened had a profound effect on the victim and that Flynn had exploited the woman's vulnerability and "that is what moves the offending into the grave category" he said.
He said Flynn, who had been in business for over a decade, had exploited his position of trust and that is what is "particularly insidious" about the case.
Judge Munro said there is still an element of denial of behalf of Flynn, and he must go to prison for what he did and to reflect on the harm to the victim of sexual assault and on the other women he filmed.
However, he said he was taking into consideration the fact Flynn had been attending psychotherapy for the last two years and had sought help, he had recently become a father, and he had lost everything.
Following a six-day trial, a jury of nine men and three women convicted Flynn of sexually assaulting the woman after she went to an appointment at his gym named NGS at Westside House in Mullingar.
In evidence, the woman told the jury that she played sports and had got help for her long-term scoliosis and severe back pain.
She had done generic programmes but wanted expert treatment and heard about Flynn. First, she did online consultations with him before going to his gym a few weeks later.
The woman booked time off work and got a letter to travel to Mullingar in compliance with the Covid-19 travel regulations at that time.
The court heard Flynn was not a qualified physiotherapist but had completed other courses and obtained qualifications in neuromuscular therapy and as a strengthening and conditioning coach.
Jurors heard that during massage therapy, Flynn asked the victim, who was then in her mid-20s, to remove her bra and shorts, and walked back in on her as she was still taking them off.
She alleged he told her that when she had removed her shorts, he said: "he would have taken them off me quicker".
The trial heard that during the massage, he told the woman she was making him hard.
Flynn asked if she wanted a "happy ending" massage, made a series of inappropriate comments and touched her intimate areas, leaving her terrified, before asking if it was his turn.
She testified that it was "absolutely not" similar to groin injury treatment she received previously, and she had no control of the situation lying there with no clothes on other than a thong.
Flynn did not testify in court, but in the account he gave to gardaí, he claimed he had not touched her intimate areas and he accused the injured party of being "wild" or "gamy".
He claimed he had to "shoot her down" when she got the wrong idea and "crossed the line" during the massage.
Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court heard that 18 hours of video footage on Flynn's laptop showed him making suggestive remarks to women and massaging their breasts.
Gardai could not identify the women in the videos, but the court heard they were believed to be ranging in age from 18 to the mid-50s.
The footage did not feature any non-consensual behaviour, and Judge Munro noted that they were not shared or distributed.
Judge Munro sentenced Flynn to three years in prison, with 16 months suspended for sexual assault, on condition he keeps the peace on his release, complete a sexual offending programme and pays €5,000 to the victim.
The victim's parents advised the court their daughter would like the money to go to a charity for the victims of sexual assault.
Judge Munro also sentenced Flynn to eight months in prison for the secret filming of 35 women at his gym. The sentences will run consecutively.
In a victim impact statement to the court after the trial, the woman said what happened to her had left her with crippling anxiety.
"I completely lost my spark and became increasingly anxious. I had to take time off from my job as I processed what I had been through and availed of counselling supports offered by my employer during my absence.
"I found myself overthinking what I was wearing, how I presented, wondering if I was too friendly towards people - all of the things I asked myself when I wondered why this happened to me."
Judge Munro paid tribute to the victim of the sexual assault who he said by coming forward she "had made the world a safer place for herself and for other women".
