Man accused of illegal tracking in Saskatoon facing 34 new charges

Warning: this story contains details of sexual assault.

A man accused of planting GPS trackers on vehicles in Saskatoon is facing 34 new charges, police say.

Police also say they have identified additional victims, bringing the total number to 17.

In January, the Saskatoon Police Service announced that Marty Schira, 46, had been arrested and was facing 36 charges including harassment, intimidation, mischief, fraudulent use of a computer system and fraudulent concealment of a computer system.

At the time, police said they had identified seven instances of trackers discovered on vehicles. The devices were found underneath the vehicle, inside the rear fender wall, near the tire, they said.

Police also said some of the victims were unknown to Schira.

The investigation began on Sept. 6, 2024, after a citizen reported having found two GPS trackers on his vehicle. 

It led officers to search an apartment in the 2000 block of 20th Street West, where they found more trackers.

Police also said they didn't believe they had found all of his GPS trackers at that time and encouraged residents to check their vehicles.

Even more charges expected

In an update to the case provided to CBC News on Wednesday, a police spokesperson said the 34 new charges were laid last week and Schira currently faces a total of 70 charges.

Police also said one more tracker was recovered last week, bringing the total number of trackers recovered to 11.

Investigators also expect further charges to be laid.

Meanwhile, police are reminding the public to check their vehicles for these trackers and to report it to the police service "for appropriate evidence recovery."

Schira's case was heard in Saskatoon provincial court Wednesday morning and has been adjourned until later this month. He remains in custody.

In May 2004, Schira pleaded guilty in a Calgary provincial courtroom to sexual assault and kidnapping.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Schira abducted a woman at gunpoint as she was walking in her hometown of Rosetown, Sask., in June 2003.

Court documents say Schira drove her to Calgary, sexually assaulting her both in his vehicle on the way to the city and inside his apartment.

He was originally sentenced to 14 years in prison. However, later that year, the Alberta Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to 13 years.

According to documents from the Parole Board of Canada in 2017, Schira stabbed a correctional officer with a protractor in June 2013, resulting in two years being added to his sentence.

The document quotes Schira's case management team, saying he has made little progress addressing his offending behaviour, including violence, sexual deviancy and mental health deficiencies.

The parole board said at the time that if Schira was released he was likely to reoffend, causing serious harm to another person, before the end of his sentence.

A psychological risk assessment completed in December 2016 said Schira presented features of various schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. 

Online abuse and sexual exploitation of children can be reported anonymously to cybertip.ca.