Calgary man convicted on six counts in sexual assault case involving sex trade victims

CALGARY — A Calgary judge has found a 62-year-old man guilty on multiple counts tied to the abuse of women working in the city’s sex trade, concluding a lengthy and delay-ridden trial that stretched over two years.Global News reports Richard Mantha was convicted Tuesday in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta after facing allegations he abducted, drugged and sexually assaulted several women at a rural property east of Calgary between September 2020 and March 2023.Justice Judith Shriar found Mantha guilty on six charges, including sexual assault, administering a noxious substance, uttering threats, assault with a weapon and suffocation during the commission of sexual assault. The judge also dismissed four additional charges.Mantha had originally pleaded not guilty to 20 charges. By the time the case reached its later stages, the trial focused on 16 counts involving six complainants after one of the alleged victims died. Several charges were dismissed during proceedings.The case was marked by repeated delays, largely tied to Mantha’s health. The court heard he suffered two strokes during the process and was also placed in isolation at the Calgary Remand Centre after contracting COVID-19. Proceedings were further complicated after Mantha dismissed multiple defence lawyers and at one point sought to have the trial conducted in French before it ultimately proceeded in English.Mantha did not testify in his own defence, leaving the court to weigh the credibility of the complainants in reaching a verdict.A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Calgary man convicted on six counts in sexual assault case involving sex trade victims

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