Witness says accused serial rapist recorded drugging, sexual assault

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A Calgary girl stated she needed to confront the person she suspected of drugging her and video-recording her being sexually violated, the trial of a person accused of a number of sexual assaults heard Wednesday.

The lady, whose identification is protected by a publication ban, stated she met Richard Mantha on Sept. 29, previous to 2023 when he helped begin her immobilized automobile within the Forest Garden space.

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“He was very gentlemanly,” testified the lady, who was working as an escort on the time.

Mantha, she stated, informed her he offered high-quality unlawful medication and invited her to a resort room on Banff Path N.W. the place she subsequently went, having fun with snacks he’d laid on the market.

He then served her a drink after she’d expressed a desire for vodka paralyzers.

“I recall him handing me the drink and sitting on the mattress and hours later I wakened with a vibrator inside me and him on prime of me,” she informed courtroom.

The lady stated she additionally seen an iPad arrange in a recording place, which angered her.

“I began swearing at him to show it off,” she stated.

“I felt flu-like — I feel he drugged me. I’m (usually) superb at remembering what I’m doing.”

‘I wanted to know what occurred’

Wanting to find out precisely what had occurred within the resort room, the lady contacted Mantha once more, who as soon as extra helped her together with her car, this time opening the van that she’d locked herself out of.

“The worst factor is having somebody benefit from me and never figuring out … I wanted to know what occurred,” she testified, admitting she was additionally motivated by buying extra medication.

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Mantha was with a youthful girl, she informed courtroom, and the three agreed to carry out a sexual threesome earlier than heading out to Mantha’s dwelling quarters in a camper inside a Quonset hut positioned on an acreage about 20 kilometres east of Calgary.

The lady informed courtroom she made two visits to Mantha’s property following the encounter within the resort room.

Final April, police swooped down on the property, pulling out tons of of items of proof and using a cadaver canine.

Mantha, 59, faces 20 prices in reference to allegations he sexually abused seven girls, and one further cost of failing to look in courtroom. He’s additionally accused of incapacitating six of the complainants by giving them medication. In some cases, it’s alleged he used a weapon or uttered threats in the course of the assaults.

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As soon as inside Mantha’s camper, the lady stated she refused to simply accept a drink poured by him.

“He was fairly aggravated by that,” she stated.

And she or he stated the youthful girl was reluctant to carry out intercourse and signalled to her that one thing was flawed.

Video described

A couple of month later, the witness stated the youthful girl despatched her a brief clip of a video by way of an internet app that depicted her having intercourse with Mantha with out her information.

“He was on prime of me, bare,” she stated, combating again tears.

“It’s very pathetic for me to see that — it makes me indignant.”

At that second, Mantha within the prisoner’s field appeared to smile and chuckle.

The witness stated she was informed by the opposite girl that the video of the sexual assault was three hours and forty minutes lengthy, that she fought with Mantha for many of it “and for the final 20 minutes my physique went limp.”

She stated each girls agreed to go to authorities however didn’t till Wednesday’s witness made an announcement to police shortly after Mantha’s property was searched in April 2023.

Witness cross-examined

In his cross-examination, defence lawyer Andre Ouellette steered alcohol and the lady’s alternative of drug — crack cocaine — clouded her reminiscence.

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“You continue to don’t know what 12 months it occurred,” he stated, with the witness agreeing.

And he argued there are inconsistencies and omissions between what the lady stated in her assertion made to police on April 23, 2023 and her courtroom testimony.

One in every of them, stated Ouellette, was that she informed police final 12 months she wasn’t completely certain she’d seen any of that video.

“Your reminiscence has improved since,” stated Ouellette.

However the girl insisted she had seen a quick clip of the video and recalled noticing a tattoo on her leg when viewing it.

The cross-examination within the non-jury trial resumes Thursday.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

X (Twitter): @BillKaufmannjrn

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