A US pervert who committed a string of sex attacks over 50 years has finally been dragged back to the UK to spend what may be the rest of his life behind bars. Evil brute Robert Flynn, a 77 year-old American citizen, was working in the UK in the 1970s when he sexually abused a teenage boy in Rossendale, Lancashire, over a number of years – before jetting back across the Atlantic in 1976.
But when the victim finally found the courage to reveal the abuse to Lancashire Police, officers contacted US Marshals in Northern Ohio to track Flynn down. US Marshals discovered Flynn was in fact already a registered sex offender after being convicted in Ohio of attempted rape and gross sexual imposition of a 13-year-old boy in 1997.
Flynn was extradited back to the UK, arriving at Heathrow Airport in June and later pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault.
Now at Preston Crown Court he’s been jailed for nine years and eight months, as his victim – now in his 60s – reveals how the appalling abuse has scarred his entire life.
Lancashire Police’s investigating officer Mick Cross, of the Major Crime Review Team, said: “First and foremost I would like to thank the victim in this case for having the courage to come forward and speak about what happened to him.
“Flynn’s abuse has had such a significant impact on the course of his adult life.
“I hope the fact that Flynn has admitted his guilt and now been jailed for his crimes gives the victim some sense that justice has been done and that he can continue to move forward with his life.
“I also hope that the fact that we have secured justice after so long and after securing Flynn’s return to the UK might give others who have suffered similar abuse the confidence to come forward and report it safe in the knowledge we will investigate professionally and with sensitivity.”
Flynn targeted the teenage boy in the 1970s and the traumatised victim finally find the courage to speak to officers about his torment in 2021.
The extradition process then began which took four years in total.
According to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, in Cleveland, Ohio, Flynn is already a US registered sex offender. He was convicted of attempted rape and gross sexual imposition of a 13-year-old boy in 1997.
In May 2025 the US Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) and the US Marshals Office of International Operations (OIO) arrested Flynn at an address in Ohio.
He was flown back to the UK and was arrested at Heathrow Airport in June this year.
When asked to extradite him over the summer, US Marshals said at the time: “This case began after information was developed by USMS OIO, placing Flynn in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
“The NOVFTF was able to investigate and locate Flynn in Garfield Heights. Flynn was then charged in the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, pursuant to the extradition treaty between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
“This charge will facilitate his extradition back to the United Kingdom to face the charges.”
Flynn, now aged 77, of Dunham Road, Maple Heights, Ohio, earlier admitted four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16.
On Thursday 11th September he appeared at Preston Crown Court where he was jailed for nine years and eight months. He was also given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO)
In a statement the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Flynn’s actions had affected his whole adult life.
But he added with the help and support of friends he had survived and after coming forward and reporting the abuse to police he was rebuilding his life and was ready to be happy.