Bernard ‘Bernie’ Lynch, a former Saskatchewan junior hockey coach convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage player, is set to spend the next three years behind bars.
Lynch was found guilty of sexual assault and assault in December for inappropriately touching and then hitting the player, 17, while working as an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats in August 1988.
The former hockey coach shook his head repeatedly as Justice Peter Bergbusch handed a sentence of three years for sexual assault and 30 days for assault to be served concurrently in a federal penitentiary.
“Mr. Lynch took advantage of the culture of silence [in hockey],” Bergbusch said.
Due to three-day credit for time served, Lynch has 1,092 days left in his sentence.
In addition to time behind bars, Lynch’s DNA will go in a data bank, he needs to comply with the sex offender registration act for 20 years, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years and he cannot make contact with the victim.
Lynch chose to speak before the sentence was delivered. He “categorically” denied he ever had sexual relations with the the then-teenager.
Crown pushed for 3 years
Crown Prosecutor Chris White argued before Bergbusch at the sentencing hearing earlier this month that the lasting impacts on Lynch’s victim were serious enough that the former junior hockey coach should be sentenced to three years in a federal penitentiary.
“He used his position as a coach, and the bona fides that came with it, to coerce [the complainant] into doing something he would not have done otherwise,” White said.
WATCH | Crown applauds guilty verdict; too early to comment on appeal, says defence:
On the steps of a Regina courthouse, Crown prosecutor Chris White is applauding a judge’s decision to find Bernard ‘Bernie’ Lynch guilty of a historical sexual assault and assault. Defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock said he was not surprised by the verdict but said Lynch was upset about the decision.
Defense lawyer Andrew Hitchcock argued at the sentencing hearing earlier this month that Lynch should receive a sentence between 18 months and two years in the provincial system.
Lynch had pleaded not guilty to both charges and testified that the events described by the complainants had never happened.
Hitchcock said that as a result of the accusations Lynch is unemployed and unemployable.
With Lynch set to turn 70 in June, Hitchcock said, his client relies on his pension for housing and that any sentence in the federal system will mean he will have no home to return to.
Hitchcock added that the sentencing is unlikely to be the final step in this court case.
“So I’m sure he will file an appeal and go through the normal channels, but until then we have to show the respect for what the judge is doing,” Hitchcock said earlier this month.
“The judge found the verdict and now it’s my job to try and persuade the judge to give him the best sentence I can.”
Lynch changed my life: victim
The complainant, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, delivered an emotional victim statement at the sentencing hearing describing a life where he dreamed of playing hockey professionally.
“Hockey was my life, [but] two days in August changed all that. Bernie Lynch changed all that,” the complainant said.
The complainant described feeling a tremendous amount of guilt after the assault, as well as a sense of guilt for not coming forward earlier. However, he added, a weight was lifted from his shoulders after the guilty verdict was handed down in December.
“Accountability is a word you hear a lot in hockey. Bernie Lynch, you needed to be held accountable,” the complainant said.
Former Regina junior hockey coach Bernie Lynch has been found guilty of assault and sexual assault against a 17-year-old player in 1988.