New charges laid against man accused of drugging, raping Calgary sex trade workers

Richard Mantha, accused of drugging, confining and raping women on his rural property east of Chestermere, Alta., faces new charges alleging he victimized two more sex trade workers, court documents show.

More than a dozen charges were first announced against Mantha last month following a five-day search of the acreage on Vale View Road inRocky View County east of Calgary. Those charges includesexual assault with a gun and sexual assault with a knife, kidnapping, forcible confinement and administering noxious substances.

At that time, police alleged three women were picked up from the Forest Lawn stroll on 19th Avenue S.E. in Calgary between August 2021 and April 2022 and taken to the remote property where Mantha was living in a rented outbuilding.

Now, four new charges two counts of sexual assault and two counts of administering a noxious substance suggest two more women were victimized even earlier with offence dates spanning a one-year period beginning in September 2020.

• Man accused of drugging, raping Calgary sex trade workers faced similar charges last year: court docs

Police allege one womanwas victimized in September 2021 at a hotel located on Banff Trail N.W.

Mantha is also accused of victimizing another womanon several occasions between September 2020 and December 2022 both at his rented rural property and at a southeast home in the Valleyfield industrial area.

All of the identities of the alleged victims are protected by a publication ban.

• Multiple sexual assault, kidnapping charges laid after rural property searched east of Calgary

Mantha is due in court on Friday to face his new charges. A bail hearing was set to take place Friday morning but because of the new charges has been re-booked for later this month.

Mantha first faced sexual assault charges connected to an allegation he abused a sex trade worker last summer following a Strathmore RCMP investigation.

Warrants issued

The case was working its way through the court system, but in March, Mantha missed a court appearance and warrants were issued for his arrest.

Around the same time, the Calgary Police Service wasinvestigating Mantha for crimes related to other city sex trade workers.

RCMP and CPS worked together and ultimately laid new charges in connection with that women as well as further offences involving two more alleged victims.

CPS says it has made available supports and resources for the women who have come forward to police.

"Historically, crimes committed against women working in the sex trade are underreported, and we know that not all victims will feel comfortable reporting to police," reads part of the statement released after the search on Mantha's property.

Resources for victims of sexual assaultinclude Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, 211 Albertaand the Alberta One Line for Sexual Violence.