Justice Peter Bergbusch is scheduled to deliver his decision on a fit sentence later in January.
Published Jan 04, 2024 • 4 minute read
REGINA, SASK : September 21, 2023– Bernie Lynch, who is facing charges of assault and sexual assault walks out of Court of KingÕs Bench on Thursday, September 21, 2023 in Regina. KAYLE NEIS / Regina Leader-Post Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post
Some things are not in dispute in the case of a former hockey coach convicted of assaulting, both physically and sexually, a 17-year-old player in 1988.
For instance, both Crown and defence agreed Thursday that Bernie Lynch, 69, was in a position of trust over the young athlete at the relevant time.
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The Regina Pats organization was holding its first annual hockey school in August of that year, bringing together the team’s then newly-minted assistant coach and the player who had hopes of making the roster.
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However, the agreement between Crown and defence lawyers did not extend to sentencing, leaving Court of King’s Justice Peter Bergbusch to parse case law and consider both sides’ arguments while determining a fit sentence.
However, the daylight between sentencing suggestions made by the two lawyers was not as significant as it could’ve been.
Andrew Hitchcock, representing Lynch, argued for an 18-month sentence to be served in a provincial jail with a multi-year probation order to follow, along with conditions including participation in treatment program for sex offenders.
Crown prosecutor Chris White, on the other hand, asked Bergbusch to consider a three-year sentence to be served in a federal penitentiary.
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Hitchcock told the judge his client maintains his innocence, and that no expression of remorse or contrition would be forthcoming. Given his stance, any apology would ring hollow, the lawyer said.
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Nonetheless, he said his client respects the court process, and while remorse might be a mitigating factor, Hitchcock reminded the judge that maintaining innocence is not aggravating.
“In my submission, there’s little by way of mitigation here,” said White, who recounted the victim’s telling of a sexual assault that was said to have occurred in Lynch’s apartment.
The prosecutor suggested there were a number of aggravating factors in the case, including the victim’s status as a minor at the time, the coach’s abuse of his position of trust, and the impact of the offence.
The Crown lawyer paused at one point to let the victim himself speak to that last point.
The man, who cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting his identity, said the incident impacted him, his family, his friends, teammates and fans.
He told court he started carrying a hockey stick around the time he could walk, and the sport became his life. Moreover it became his dream to progress to hockey’s highest levels.
“Bernie Lynch changed all that,” he said, documenting how the incident affected not only his trajectory in hockey but his personality and ultimately his family, as he’s dealt with the issue over the past years.
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He said a good coach leads by example, inspires others and brings out the best in players, making a positive impact on their lives.
“This, Bernie Lynch, is not you,” he said to the man in the prisoner’s box, who sat dry-eyed but appearing contemplative.
The victim went on that it was as if he’d taken off a weighted vest when he learned of Lynch’s conviction, and he hopes his parents can now rest in peace.
“Bernie Lynch you took so much away from me and my family over the years, but I can say this with confidence: you will never take anything away from me again.”
Hitchcock, while not making a comparison, noted his client too had experienced negative outcomes as a result of the incident, noting the former coach’s fall from grace within the sport, losing his contacts and becoming unemployable.
He described Lynch as “quite frankly, bankrupt,” noting his client had stayed at a local shelter during the trial, and that he’d been mugged near the end of his stay.
Hitchcock told Bergbusch that his client depends on a pension — something he’d lose under a federal sentence, meaning he’d emerge from prison broke and homeless, which the lawyer suggested was not in the public interest.
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He advocated that a shorter sentence in a provincial jail followed by probation would, in fact, see Lynch under supervision for longer than the three-year sentence suggested by White.
And he added that despite Lynch maintaining his innocence, it doesn’t mean the convicted man can’t benefit from rehabilitative programming .
“It’s true that sometimes attempts of the system to rehabilitate people fail,” he acknowledged.
“But we keep trying, because you never know for who it’s going to take and you never know what they’re going to learn.”
Both lawyers provided the judge with examples of cases from the past that spoke to aspects of the case, including the facts and the historical nature of the offence.
Bergbusch scheduled a date later in January when he plans to deliver his decision.
Lynch remains on bail pending that decision.
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