WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual assault or know someone who has been affected by it.
A 59-year-old Alberta man has been charged with multiple offenses in connection with incidents in which he allegedly targeted women working in the sex trade in Calgary.
Between December 2021 and March 2023, police said at least three women were approached by a man at 19 Avenue SE in Forest Lawn, where the women were allegedly drugged, taken to a rural estate east of the city and physically and sexually assaulted. have been mistreated.
The charges come after police spent several days searching an area about 10 miles east of Chestermere, Alta, on Vale View Road in Rocky View County.
Richard Robert Mantha of Rocky View County, is charged with the following:
One kidnapping. Forced confinement twice. Twice the administration of something harmful. One assault. Two assaults with a weapon. One assault with bodily harm. One assault with a weapon. .Two counts of making threats.One count of pointing a firearm.Three outstanding warrants for assault, assault with bodily harm, and failure to appear in court.
“In recent weeks, this investigation has developed rapidly,” said acting staff sgt. Shelby Stewart of CPS District 4 General Investigations Unit said in a statement.
“We are grateful to the victims who have come forward and entrusted us with this investigation and we ask anyone with information to contact police.”
‘Who knows where it will take us’
Officers first entered the building around 8 a.m. on Thursday and focused on a shed behind the house.
They executed a search warrant and took Mantha, who is a tenant of the premises, into custody. The search is the culmination of a months-long investigation, police said.
A mobile command vehicle was parked in front of a house on the property. Over the weekend, police installed floodlights on the edge of the property and a blue tent was set up in the back.
The search is expected to be completed on Tuesday and police say the investigation is ongoing. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
At a press conference on Monday, police said the search could be expanded to other properties and that they are investigating previous cases of missing persons.
The police homicide unit, forensic officers and cadaver dogs were used during the search, police said.
“Who knows where it will take us,” Superintendent Cliff O’Brien told reporters on the inquiry. “I don’t want to rule anything out.”
More charges could follow, he added.
There is support for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. This gives you access to crisis lines and local support services Canadian government website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you are in immediate danger or have concerns for your safety or that of others around you, call 911.
