Former Pats coach Bernie Lynch loses appeal on loss of day parole

Former Regina Pats hockey coach Bernard "Bernie" Lynch seen during his historic sexual assault trial in 2023.

Former Regina Pats coach Bernard “Bernie” Lynch, who is serving a sentence for a historic sexual assault, has lost his bid at overturning the suspension of his parole.

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) Appeal Division issued its decision on Jan. 16. The decision followed Lynch’s parole being suspended after he contacted the victim of his offence over social media.

In December 2023, Lynch was found guilty of sexually and physically assaulting a 17-year-old hockey player. The charges stemmed from an incident in 1988, when Lynch was serving as an assistant coach for the Regina Pats.

According to testimony from the trial, the player was staying at Lynch’s apartment while attending a Regina Pats hockey school when the incident occurred.

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The player eventually came forward to police in 2021. The victim was not named, as they were a minor at the time of the incident.

Lynch received a three-year sentence for the historic sexual assault.

According to the PBC report, Lynch argued that the board was treating him unfairly and had conducted an unfair hearing when his day parole was revoked. He claimed the board member conducting the hearing was “rude, belligerent, interruptive, and sometimes accusatory.”

After a review of the hearing’s recording, the PBC found there was “nothing” to support Lynch’s accusations.

Lynch’s parole has been revoked in the past, stemming from his alleged behaviour at a halfway house following his release from prison.

However, the latest infraction had to do with a Facebook friend request – sent to Lynch’s victim and therefore violating the conditions of his parole.

According to the document, Lynch provided multiple reasons why he was viewing the profile in the first place, as he claimed to be writing a book that includes his time coaching hockey in Europe.

He claimed that in the process of trying to find people he may have known in Europe at that time, he came across the victim’s profile and accidentally sent the request.

His arguments were ultimately rejected, with the Appeal Division finding it was unlikely the incident occurred as a simple “slip of the finger,” referring to Lynch’s admission that he had accessed the victim’s Facebook profile multiple times.

“The Board has difficulty believing the Facebook friend invite, was sent out by accident, a slip of the finger while scrolling through contacts. The Board also finds it highly unlikely that the victim was part of ‘mutual friend’ lists of people you were trying to contact in regard to your book, as you told the Board most of the people you trying to or planning to contact were in Europe and Asia,” the decision read.

Going further, the Appeal Division also stated that throughout the hearing, Lynch had a tendency to portray himself as a “victim.”

With files from Rory Maclean

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