More charges for Alberta man accused of sexually assaulting five women

Calgary police laid additional charges Friday against a man accused of kidnapping, drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women.

Richard Robert Mantha, 59, was arrested and charged on April 10 in relation to numerous assaults. Since then, two more women have come forward and reported they were also drugged and assaulted.

The Rocky View County resident now faces another two counts of sexual assault and two counts of administering a noxious thing.

The man has now been charged with more than 20 offences against five different victims.

Read more: Man faces 13 counts for sexual assault, kidnapping women: Calgary police

Mantha appeared in court Friday and a bail hearing was scheduled for May 26.

Police say the women allege they were approached by a man, then drugged and taken to a rural property, 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 that crimes committed against women working in the sex trade are historically underreported and that not all victims feel comfortable reporting to police. Anyone who is the victim of sexual assault can also reach out directly to additional resources that are available including through Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, 211 Alberta, the Alberta One-Line for Sexual Violence and Her Victory.

Anyone with information about this case, or who is looking to report a crime, can contact police by calling 403-266-1234 or CrimeStoppers.

-With files from The Canadian Press