A rural property is seen Langdon, Alta., Monday, April 10, 2023. Police investigators who brought in forensic teams and a cadaver dog to search a rural property east of Calgary have charged a man accused of targeting women in the city's sex trade. Supt. Cliff O'Brien said the suspect was living in an outbuilding that he rented from the property's owners. Richard Robert Mantha, the man accused will be back in court next week.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – A man accused of targeting women in Calgary’s sex trade is scheduled to be back in court next week.
Richard Robert Mantha, 59, faces 13 charges including kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault with a weapon and sexual assault causing bodily harm.
Police cordoned off a rural property east of Calgary earlier this month looking for evidence after at least three sex workers alleged they were drugged, and physically and sexually assaulted.
Investigators also brought in cadaver dogs, but no bodies were found.
Mantha is accused in three separate assault cases beginning in August 2021, as well as two dates in April 2022.
His lawyer asked the court to adjourn the case until next Tuesday and once again complained her client is having difficulty accessing phones at the Calgary Remand Centre, which has limited her ability to talk to him.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2023.
