On Friday, Bernard (Bernie) Lynch was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault. He also received 30 days for assault. These sentences will run concurrently.
On Jan. 19, 2024, Lynch appeared at the Court of King’s Bench for the final verdict.
For more than two years, the court heard testimonies from both the complainants and the defense on the charges of sexual assault of a 17-year-old boy in August of 1988.
Lynch was said to have sexually and physically assaulted the teenager.
The victim, whose name remains under a publication ban, claimed in court that he was struck in the testicles by Lynch with a ring of keys, following a day of hockey camp, which the victim was helping teach.
Lynch worked as an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats at that time.
The judge found him guilty last December of both offences.
Crown prosecutor Chris White had asked the court for a three-year sentence. “We are satisfied… I think the right sentence was imposed. We thought it was just… We are happy to see it imposed,” White said.
Justice Peter Bergbusch said there was a clear power imbalance between Lynch and his victim. The complainant was 17 and a vulnerable person, and Lynch took advantage of the power imbalance.
He says Lynch’s action showed premeditation when he pressured the teen to drink alcohol, take off his clothes and rent an adult movie.
The judge said he also took advantage of the silence culture in the hockey league at that time.
“He carefully chose his victim; someone he knew was not going to resist because of who he was and what Mr. Lynch meant to his career,” the Crown prosecutor said. “He was pretty sure the 17-year-old kid wasn’t going to say anything because of the stigma attached to it and the impact it would have on his potential career.”
The former junior hockey coach was arrested in May of 2021 after he turned himself in to authorities in Alberta. He was transported to Regina, where the police service had a warrant for his arrest.
The judge called it a crime of opportunity when the complainant took a shower to sober up and Lynch followed him into the shower and sexually assaulted him there.
According to the judge, the former coach did not take responsibility or express remorse. He affirmed his innocence in court Friday. “I would like to state categorically that I had no sexual relations with this man at any time in my life,” Lynch said.
Defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock had asked the judge for a lesser sentence of 18 months to two years less a day.
“Well, given the facts that he found, I didn’t think the sentence comes as a surprise. I tried to persuade him to put him in the provincial system for various reasons, but the judge felt that the federal sentence was necessary,” Hitchcock said.
On the appropriateness of the three-year jail term, the judge said he put into account Lynch’s mature age, the possibility of rehabilitation, absence of criminal record and his current circumstances.
Lynch plans to appeal.
“He has got the right to appeal like any citizen does. He must demonstrate that the judge made a legal error in his ruling,” Hitchcock said.
“It’s not as simple as saying ‘the judge should not have found me guilty;’ he must go further than that. He must file a notice of appeal within 30 days.”
Lynch will be added to the national sex offender registry for 20 years. He must never contact or communicate with the complainant.
Lynch spent at least 15 years coaching various teams in Saskatchewan, including minor hockey teams in the 1990s.
Sentencing arguments began on Jan. 5, 2024.
– with files from Moosa Imran
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