The years-long trial of a Calgary man who was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting vulnerable women employed in the sex trade is nearing an end
A sentencing hearing for 62-year-old Richard Mantha took place Tuesday in place in a Calgary courtroom on Tuesday
Mantha was arrested in April 2023 following a police search of a property in Rocky View County, east of Calgary
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He was accused of abducting, drugging and sexually assaulting at least seven women between September 2020 and March 2023
A long list of charges were laid against him, including sexual assault, knowingly administering a noxious substance, uttering threats, assault with a weapon and suffocation in the commission of sexual assault
His trial began in January 2024 but faced numerous delays, including when Mantha fired his lawyers, when he suffered a stroke, when he contracted COVID-19 and his demand the trial be held in French, although it was eventually held in English
Mantha initially pleaded not guilty to 20 charges, but following the death of one of his accusers, his trial proceeded on 16 counts related to six complainants, while another six charges were dismissed during the trial
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The accused never took the stand in his own defence, so the trial relied on the credibility of the complainants
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In April, Justice Judith Shriar from the Court of King’s Bench in Calgary found him guilty on a total of six counts, including sexual assault, knowingly administering a noxious substance, uttering threats, assault with a weapon and suffocation in the commission of sexual assault
Among the victim impact statements presented to the court on Tuesday was one from Aimee Ert
Normally victims of sex crimes have their identity protected by a publication ban, but Ert petitioned the court to lift the ban because she felt it was important to tell her own story in her own words
She told how she escaped from Mantha after fighting him off with a large chunk of wood and running through fields and ditches before she collapsed, waking up later in hospital
“Something gave me strength that day. Something warned me. I don’t know if it was a sign, if it was intuition, or if it was just something that came over me that gave me strength to fight, but that moment was when I knew I wanted to live,” said Ert
“I really feel like he was going to try to take my life. He had done so many things to me and I had fought so hard. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have that,” Ert added
Crown prosecutor Dominique Mathurin told the court Mantha deserves a prison sentence of 10 to 13 years
“It is an attack upon the sense of security, autonomy and self worth of the victim,” she told Justice Shriar
“The impact of the case must be considered in light of the particular vulnerabilities of each complainant.”
Mathurin said Mantha preyed on those with difficult personal challenges, including the woman who read her impact statement
“She had to grab the piece of wood, swing it around to keep him away from her – and what is aggravating here is that as she’s living the worst moment of her life — he’s laughing,” she said
Justice Schriar will deliver her sentencing decision on Sept. 17
With files from The Canadian Press
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