Former Regina hockey coach Bernie Lynch handed three-year sentence

A former junior hockey coach in Regina has been handed a three-year sentence less three days in federal prison for sexual assault.

Bernie Lynch, 69, was found guilty last month of assaulting and sexually assaulting a teen boy in 1988. The crimes occurred while Lynch was serving as a coach for the Regina Pats in the WHL.

Lynch stood wiping away tears as Justice Gary Bergbush read him his sentence.

“I think the right sentence was imposed under the circumstances,” said Crown Prosecutor Chris White. “We thought it was just, and we are happy to see it imposed.”

During Justice Bergbush’s sentence, he said that Lynch used the culture of silence in hockey to his advantage. White agreed with the judge.

“He carefully chose his victim, somebody he knew was not going to resist because of who he was, and who Mr. Lynch was, and what Mr. Lynch meant to his career,” said White. “He also knew or was pretty sure that 17-year-old kid wasn’t going to say anything because of the stigma attached to that, and the impact it would have on his potential career.”

In a statement to the judge, Lynch denied that he was guilty of assault and sexual assault.

White had not spoken with his client on Friday, but said he hopes the decision will help him heal.

“I hope that this brings him some closure,” he said. “I mean, this has been halfway through his fourth decade of dealing with this. I hope it brings him closure.”

Defense lawyer Andrew Hitchcock said Lynch would likely appeal the decision.

“I don’t think that the sentence was a surprise,” said Hitchcock. “I tried to persuade to put him in the provincial system for various reasons, but the court obviously felt that a federal sentence was necessary.”

Lynch, who has maintained his innocence throughout the court process, was handed a three-year sentence for sexual assault and a 30-day sentence for assault, which will be served concurrently.

The Crown pushed for a three-year sentence for the former coach, while Lynch’s lawyer Andrew Hitchcock advocated for a sentence between 18 months and two years less a day, which would have allowed Lynch to serve his time in a provincial jail.

During the 1980s, Lynch coached for the Pats and the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. His coaching career also included a stint with the under-18 Regina Pat Canadians in the late ‘90s.

In January of 2021, Lynch was suspended and later fired from a head coaching position with the Fort Frances (Ont.) Lakers in the Superior International Junior Hockey League after the team learned of what it called “inappropriate communications from Mr. Lynch to a player.”