CALGARY — A bail hearing for a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary's sex trade is to be held later this month after two more complainants came forward.
Richard Robert Mantha, who is 59, faces two new charges of sexual assault and two additional charges of administering a noxious substance.
Police say in a statement that the additional charges are related to alleged assaults at a hotel and a home in Calgary and at a rural property between September 2020 and December 2022.
They say Mantha now faces a total of 20 offences involving five women.
A bail hearing has been scheduled on all the charges for May 26.
Police have said the women allege 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 and brought in cadaver dogs, but police said at the time that no bodies were found.
Police say the investigation is ongoing and encouraged others who have been sexually assaulted to report it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.
The Canadian Press
