Trial resumes for accused Calgary-area serial rapist and kidnapper

Trial resumed Tuesday for a man accused of drugging, kidnapping and raping seven women on a rural property east of Calgary.

After several delays, the trial for a man accused of drugging, kidnapping and sexually assaulting seven women east of Calgary resumed Tuesday.

Richard Robert Mantha, 60, has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges, including kidnapping, sexual assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance and uttering threats of bodily harm.

Most of his alleged victims were women who worked in Calgary’s sex trade.

The alleged crimes took place at a rural property.

Paul Lock, who owned the property and rented land and a mechanic shop to Mantha in 2021, testified Tuesday.

He detailed deplorable conditions of the trailer and property following Mantha’s arrest in 2023.

“He’s probably the worst hoarder I’ve ever met in my life,” he told the court.

Lock told the court 37,426 pounds of garbage were removed from the property.

He described finding bins of urine and feces, dead animals including cats and bags of children’s clothing and diapers.

“It was really creepy,” he said.

Lock told the court Mantha “seemed normal” when he first met him to rent the property but said their relationship deteriorated to the point he would avoid him because “we would end up killing each other, and that’s the truth.”

Mantha shook his head several times in the prisoner’s box during Lock’s testimony.

Trial resumes after several delays

Mantha’s trial has been delayed several times for multiple reasons.

Jacquie Meyer, the executive director of Her Victory, which is offering supports to some of the alleged victims, said the pushbacks have been difficult for the women.

“Unfortunately, one of the victims is deceased and the other women, you know, to be quite honest, they just want to move on with their lives,” she said.

The trial began in January 2024 but was postponed after Mantha’s lawyers attempted to divide it into seven separate trials.

Later that month, he fired his lawyers, Kim Arial and Andre Ouellette, which forced an adjournment of the court proceedings.

He also switched his trial from French to English.

Meyer believes Mantha is purposely delaying court proceedings in an effort to evade justice.

“He has used the system to his advantage in order to delay the process,” she said.

“I believe that he is well aware that if he is to delay this process, then these women who are in vulnerable positions—the majority of them still caught in the sex trade, facing addiction, lack of support and whatnot—I believe he is utilizing the system to his advantage, unfortunately.”

Mantha then suffered a stroke in May 2024 and the case was adjourned until September.

Despite reduced verbal skills, a forensic psychiatrist assessment determined Mantha was fit to stand trial this past fall.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Judith Shriar dismissed his application to be found unfit for trial, noting the trial is almost halfway completed and most complainants have already testified.

Mantha then fired his legal counsel again, which pushed the trial back until Tuesday.

Legal expert Doug King from Mount Royal University’s justice studies faculty said the court will only tolerate so many delays but said concerns around pushbacks are not without merit.

“There’s that old adage, justice delayed is justice denied. It has everything to do with reliability of evidence. The longer the delay, the more likely it is that people’s memories become faulty and that can lead to reasonable doubt.”

The trial is scheduled to run until May 30.