(File Photo/980 CJME)

By CJME News

Crime Update

Former Regina hockey coach Bernie Lynch handed three-year sentence

Jan 19, 2024 | 11:48 AM

A former junior hockey coach in Regina has been handed a three-year sentence 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, 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.

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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.”