Father says son with autism didn't intend to harm woman in St. John's Park

When Calvin Flynn noticed his son wasn't in the basement of their St. John's home Monday he knew immediately where he'd be — Bowring Park.

Flynn's heart dropped when he soon discovered his 22-year-old son — who has autism and requires the 24-hour care of his two parents — in the back of a police car.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary confirmed Tuesday that a man was charged with sexual assault following an incident at the park around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. The Criminal Code of Canada defines the charge of sexual assault as an assault that is "committed in circumstances of a sexual nature such that the sexual integrity of the victim is violated."

"I know my son loves to hug someone, and I know that if he went to the park without me there with him, if the opportunity arose he was going to hug somebody, and that's exactly what happened," Flynn said.

A woman wrote in a now widely shared post on Facebook that she was sunbathing at Bowring Park when a man jumped on top of her and grabbed at her bikini bottoms. She said she cried for help, and he continued to ask for one more hug. The woman did not respond to CBC News' request for comment. 

"I can understand 100 per cent how she felt because my son is a big boy," Flynn said.

Earlier that day, Flynn said he told his son it was too hot to go on their daily walk to the park, which is near their home. He later discovered his son had left alone — something Flynn said has only happened one other time, when his son was a child. 

Flynn commended the RNC officers who responded to the incident for their compassion. He said he was told by one officer that no one was hurt, but the woman wanted to proceed with a sexual assault charge.

"[The officer] said, 'I understand your situation.' So [they] released our son into our custody and we brought him home," Flynn said. 

Flynn said his son is not a monster who intended to inflict harm on anyone but a gentle man with a love of painting, flags, eating fast-food and walking in Bowring Park with his dad — something that he can no longer do because of a police order to stay away. 

"I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry the system failed us, and it bloody well definitely failed her, and I can't take back what happened but I want to tell you my son did not intentionally want to hurt or sexually assault you," he said, addressing the woman.

"He doesn't have the mental capability to ever do something like that. Yesterday, what he did … he has no concept of it."

Flynn said the incident has devastated his family and highlights how people like his son are falling through the cracks and are being failed by the systems meant to protect and care for them. 

In 2018, the province's Supreme Court made Flynn and his wife their son's legal guardians after the court determined their son's disability left him incapable of making decisions related to his care. They alone provide continuous care in their home.