Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 2421Sexual assault, secret filming (indecent assault) · Co. Westmeath · 1 Jan 2021

Gym owner Shane Flynn can resume work on release after sexual assault conviction in Mullingar

Shane Flynn, 35, a personal trainer from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, who was jailed for two years and four months for sexually assaulting a woman and secretly filming dozens of others at his gym, can resume the same work on release despite being on the sex offenders register, drawing criticism from Rape Crisis Ireland over the register's limitations.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced20 Jan
    2 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
32 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatThe footage showed Flynn making suggestive remarks to women aged from 18 to their mid-50s and massaging their breasts. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe videos did not feature any non-consensual behaviour. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe videos were not shared or distributed and were mostly recovered from his laptop recycle bin. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatFlynn asked the victim, who was in her mid-20s, to remove her bra and shorts. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatFlynn sexually assaulted a woman seeking treatment for chronic back problems in 2021. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatFlynn secretly filmed dozens of other women topless while giving them massages. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatNone of the recordings involved non-consensual acts, but the secret recording of the assaulted woman was a crime. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereFlynn owned and ran the NGS Gym & Rehabilitation Clinic in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereFlynn owned and ran the NGS Gym & Rehabilitation Clinic in Mullingar. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenFlynn ceased the filming activity several months before his arrest for the sexual assault. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationGardaí could not identify the women in the videos. (irishtimes.com)
  • chargeFlynn denied sexually assaulting a woman in January 2021 but admitted making covert digital recordings from July 2018 until August 2020. (irishtimes.com)
  • courtA jury of nine men and three women convicted him following a six-day trial in October. (irishtimes.com)
  • courtJudge Ronan Munro presided over the sentencing at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceFlynn was jailed for two years and four months. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceThe sentence for the sexual assault was three years with 16 months suspended on conditions. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentencePost-release, Flynn must remain under probation supervision for one year and complete a sexual offending treatment programme. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceAfter release, Flynn must remain under probation supervision for one year. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceAfter release, Flynn must complete a sexual offending treatment programme. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe victim's parents advised the court she wanted the money to go to a charity that assists survivors of sexual assault. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn told the court via his barrister that he now unequivocally accepted the verdict. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn had recently been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherA probation report found him to be at medium risk of sexual reoffending. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn built up his business over a decade and it was rebranded last year as Recode. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn begged the sentencing judge not to be imprisoned as he had just become a father. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn is on the sex offenders register. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn must notify the Garda of any change of address as a condition of the sex offenders register. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherNo vetting procedures apply to Flynn's work because he only worked with adults. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn continued to run his business for more than three years after the criminal investigation into him began. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherFlynn rebranded the company the year before the article was published after he had been charged. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherRape Crisis Ireland's executive director Dr Clíona Saidléar said the register's limitations and lack of regulation meant Flynn could resume his work. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherCoru, the State regulator for health workers, opened its first register for social workers in 2011 and has since added 12 registers regulating 30,000 professionals. (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 4 Feb2025
    Sentencedirishtimes.com, follow-up
    Gym owner who sexually assaulted woman, filmed others, can resume work on release

    Follow-up to Flynn's sentencing, focusing on the fact that he can resume self-employed fitness and rehabilitation work on release, the limitations of the sex offenders register, and criticism from Rape Crisis Ireland and Coru regarding the lack of regulatory oversight for personal trainers.

    victim, femaleconvicted, Shane Flynn, 35, male, named, irish (judged from name)Shane Flynn
  2. 20 Jan2025
    Sentencedirishtimes.com, follow-up
    Personal trainer jailed for ‘predatory’ sex attack on woman and secretly filming 35 topless women during massages

    Provides full sentencing details: three years for sexual assault (16 months suspended) plus eight months consecutive for secret recordings, conditions of probation, victim impact statement, and details of the 18 hours of footage showing 35 women.

    victim, mid-20s, femaleconvicted, Shane Flynn, 35, male, named, irish (judged from name)Shane Flynn