Decision in sexual assault trial of former junior hockey coach to come in December

Warning: this story contains details of an alleged sexual assault.

The sexual assault trial of Bernard “Bernie” Lynch is now in the hands of Justice Peter T. Bergbusch.

The judge has to decide whether the former junior hockey coach assaulted and sexually assaulted a 17-year-old in August 1988, after lawyers made their closing arguments at the trial in Regina Court of Queen’s Bench on Friday.

Senior Crown prosecutor Chris White told Bergbusch the complainant testified in order to be heard and not in an attempt to persuade the judge.

White said the complainant came forward and went through the very public process of testifying in court because he believes it is the right thing to do.

“He is not motivated by money, by fame or by notoriety,” White said.

What happened

Lynch has nearly 50 years of experience coaching hockey but, back in the summer of 1988, he was the newly appointed assistant coach of the Regina Pats.

His first course of action was to attempt to recruit a 17-year-old prospect from a small town in Saskatchewan.

Any information that could identify the complainant or his then-girlfriend — the two witnesses called by the Crown — is protected by a publication ban

The teen was invited to take part in a hockey school offered by the Regina Pats that ran between Aug. 7, 1988, and Aug. 13, 1988.

Diverging stories

During the four-day trial, Bergbusch heard two different stories

The complainant testified he arrived in Regina on Aug. 7 and was expecting to stay with Lynch that night, before he moved to a hotel on the following evening.

The complainant said that while staying at Lynch’s apartment, he was offered beer and, despite declining multiple times, was ultimately pressured into drinking.

He said Lynch encouraged him to get naked and walk in front of the apartment’s patio door, and that he ultimately did.

Under questioning from White, the complainant testified he later tried to sober up by taking a shower.

The complainant said he believed the bathroom door was shut and locked, but that Lynch eventually joined him in the shower.

The complainant testified he did not want any romantic or sexual relationship with Lynch and had not invited Lynch to join him in the shower.

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The junior hockey coach then grasped the teen’s penis, the complainant said.

He testified that he repeatedly said no, but that Lynch continued to touch him. Lynch then told the teen that they should masturbate together, the complainant testified. He also said Lynch grabbed his hand and placed it on Lynch’s genitals.

The complainant said he agreed to masturbate Lynch after being told that if he did so, that would be the end of it.

The next day, at the hockey camp, Lynch teased and physically touched the teen, the complainant testified. That included smacking the complainant on the rear, hitting him in the genitals with his key ring and punching the complainant’s shoulder.

When he testified in his own defence, Lynch denied the events described by the complainant ever happened.

He said the complainant actually arrived in Regina on Aug. 5, 1988, and was dropped off at a hotel rather than staying at Lynch’s house.

The former coach said he did not actually coach at the hockey school — even though he was advertised as being an instructor in a flyer earlier that summer.

Lynch said he flew to Calgary on Aug. 6, 1988, in order to take part in a clinic — before he bean coaching — at a Hockey Canada festival in Calgary between Aug. 12 and Aug. 20.

As evidence, the defence provided a photograph of the team Lynch was coaching. Lynch identified himself in the photo.

Chris White told the court that the testimony offered by Lynch was illogical.

White said it makes no sense that Lynch would travel a full week before the festival to take part in a clinic that was a full nine days before the team he coached played its first game.

“The only thing that was consistent [in Lynch’s testimony] was its inconsistency,” said Chris White.

Defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock argued Lynch is innocent until proven guilty and that the legal bar of a criminal trial of “beyond a reasonable doubt” had not been met by the Crown;

Hitchcock asked why his client would do all of the alleged actions and risk his status and future.

“Even predators try to avoid detection,” said Hitchcock.

Hitchcock said there is no corroboration on the complainant’s testimony that he stayed with Lynch in his hotel or stayed with Lynch in a hotel room, and no corroboration that Lynch took part in the hockey school.

He pointed to how the complainant could not even recall who else was at the alleged hockey school.

White countered by saying this event happened 35 years ago and the complainant was not memorizing faces because he was dealing with the aftermath of the alleged assault.

The complainant testified he went to police about the alleged assault decades after it allegedly happened because he had begun to see news stories about Lynch’s conduct.

He said he felt an obligation to speak out and ensure that Lynch did not hurt anyone else under his care.

Bergbusch is set to deliver his decision on the case on Dec. 1, 2023, at 10 a.m. CST.

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.