Calgary man charged with kidnapping, crimes against sex workers

A Calgary man named Richard Robert Mantha, 59, is facing a long list of charges related to the sexual assault, drugging, and kidnapping of multiple sex workers.

Heather Yourex-West explains how the charges result from an investigation at a rural Chestermere, Alberta property, the eerie parallels to the case of serial killer Robert “Willy” Pickton, and the continued calls for laws to better protect the rights of sex workers.

Calgary-based non-profit SafeWorks Alberta noted the arrest of 59-year-old Richard Robert Mantha — who's accused of kidnapping, drugging and sexually violating at least three women he picked up in the Forest Lawn area between December 2021 and March 2023 — as “valiant.”