Bail hearing to continue for Alberta man accused of sexually assaulting five women

Richard Mantha is seen in a sketch from his first court appearance on April 12, 2023. The 59-year-old faces charges of kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault and other offences related to attacks on Calgary women. (CTV Calgary/Damien Wood)

CALGARY -

A bail hearing for a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary will continue later this month.

Richard Robert Mantha, who is 59, faces numerous charges involving five women that include kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault causing bodily harm and administering a noxious substance.

His bail hearing started Wednesday in Court of King's Bench, but the details are covered by a publication ban.

It is to continue on June 22.

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 in April and brought in cadaver dogs, but police said at the time that no bodies were found.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.