A former Regina junior hockey coach convicted of physically and sexually assaulting a teenaged player in his care has had his day parole revoked, according to a decision published by the Parole Board of Canada.
After a trial in 2023, Justice Peter T. Bergbusch ruled that Bernard “Bernie” Lynch inappropriately touched and then hit a 17-year-old while working as an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats in August 1988.
The identity of the victim is protected under a standard publication ban.
READ | Parole Board of Canada decision on Bernie Lynch:
Lynch was sentenced to three years behind bars, but was released on day parole in September 2024.
According to the parole document, RCMP contacted Lynch’s parole supervisor on May 26, 2025, saying they had received a complaint from the victim of his assault. The victim showed RCMP officers that Lynch had sent a friend request over Facebook, the document says.
That breached Lynch’s conditions of release, so warrants were issued the same day and police took Lynch into custody.
Lynch was found guilty of sexual assault and assault in December for inappropriately touching and then hitting a 17-year-old player while working as an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats in August 1988.
Lynch, 71, would later admit to the parole board he’d been searching the victim’s profile on Facebook for the past six months after being told that the victim was posting potentially slanderous information about Lynch on social media.
“You shared that if a ‘friend request’ was sent it was accidental, and you were unaware it was sent,” the parole board decision reads.
Lynch said he did not believe looking at the victim’s social media was a breach of his conditions and therefore did not inform his parole supervisor. Lynch also said he was not trying to communicate with the victim, he just wanted to see all the comments posted about him.
The parole board decision noted that Lynch offered several different explanations for the friend request, including that the victim was on a “mutual friend” list of a couple people Lynch was planning to connect with and that it most have been an inadvertent click.
The board did not believe Lynch’s explanations and highlighted inconsistencies, such as Lynch originally saying he’d only looked at his victim’s social media three times before admitting that he’d actually done it six times.
Lynch has repeatedly downplayed his actions and previously denied doing anything wrong, even though he now accepts responsibility for his actions.
“[That] was with the caveat that your memory is not so good, and you do not remember much of events at this time, yet you are able to work on a book that spans over 40 years,” the decision reads.
The board found Lynch tended to portray himself as a victim throughout the hearing. It ruled there is no viable release plan that “could manage [Lynch’s] risk in the community,” as the 71-year-old lacks insight into his offending cycle.
Earlier breach of conditions
Lynch’s day parole was previously suspended after staff at the community-based residential facility he was staying at noted numerous concerns about his behaviour.
That included boundary issues with offenders and residents that made them feel uncomfortable, “such as enroaching on their personal space, asking intrusive questions about their sexual activity and initiating conversations about male genitalia.”
Lynch appeared possessed with helping one young roommate that was not interested in his attention, the report notes, and Lynch became aggressive once that roommate was moved, the documents say.
Lynch’s behaviour persisted despite being informed of the concerns. As a result, his day parole was suspended in October 2024.
That suspension was cancelled after a review by the Parole Board of Canada. Lynch was issued a reprimand instead. He resumed day parole on Dec. 9 and was living at a different community-based residential facility meant for older offenders.
He was living at that facility when the most recent decision by the parole board revoked his day-parole again.
