Bail denied for Alberta man accused of sexually assaulting five women in Calgary
CALGARY – A man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting five women in Calgary has been denied bail.
Richard Robert Mantha, who is 59, is facing numerous charges involving five women, including kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and administering a harmful substance.
His bail hearing lasted two days, but the details are under a publication ban.
The judge denied Mantha’s release before trial, which is tentatively scheduled for early 2024.
Police have said the women claim they were approached by a man, then drugged and taken to another location, where they were physically and sexually assaulted.
Mantha was charged after officers cordoned off a property east of Calgary in April and brought in cadaver dogs, but police said at the time no bodies had been found.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 30, 2023.