Supreme Court Denies Ex-Councilor's Bid for Prison Sentence Reduction

Gerald Lynch, a former East Providence city councilor, has been rebuffed in his bid for a reduction of the 10-year prison sentence he received after being convicted of first-degree sexual assault, according to the Providence Journal.

Lynch, who also once served as executive director of the East Providence Boys and Girls Club, was convicted in 2006 of four counts of assault on a boy in the basement of the East Providence flower shop he owned more than 20 years earlier. 

The RI Supreme Court had previously denied Lynch’s appeal. Last Thursday, Jan. 10, the court rejected his motion to reduce his sentence.

Lynch has been held in the ACI (Adult Correctional Institutions) since June of 2011. The victim of his sexual assault was a Pawtucket man who was 34 when he stepped forward with his complaint to police in 2004 after keeping it a secret even from his mother.

Lynch sought a sentence reduction because of a reported heart condition, his age, 68, and his good behavior in the ACI. The Supreme Court said, however, that many inmates have similar health problems, and the sentence was actually less than the sentencing benchmark of 15 to 25 years for multiple cases of sexual abuse.

State law actually allows sentences of 10 years to life for similar cases of sexual assault.