Calgary

Bail decision reserved for Alberta man accused of sexually assaulting five women

A judge has reserved his decision on bail for a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary.

Case scheduled to be back in court next week for the judge's decision

A bald man is pictured wearing a black shirt.
Police charged Richard Robert Mantha with multiple offences after several women who work in the sex trade were allegedly kidnapped, drugged and sexually assaulted. (Richard Mantha/Facebook)

A judge has reserved his decision on bail for a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary.

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 took place over two days, but the details are covered by a publication ban.

The matter is scheduled to be back in court on June 30 for the judge's decision.

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.