Defence lawyer questions woman's memory of alleged sexual assault at Calgary trial

Judge announces decision on how to try Mantha A judge decided that Richard Mantha will face a single trial on charges of sexually assaulting seven women. Mason Depatie reports

A defence lawyer for a man accused of sexually assaulting seven women in Calgary has challenged a woman's memory of what happened on the day of her alleged attack.

Richard Robert Mantha, 59, faces 20 charges that include kidnapping, threats causing bodily harm, sexual assault with a weapon and administering a noxious substance. He has pleaded not guilty.

One of the women, who can't be identified because of a publication ban, testified Friday that she went with the man she knew as "Poncho" to a rural property in April 2022. She said she was trying to leave the sex trade when he approached her and offered her construction work.

When they arrived at the property, she alleged he attacked her but she fought back and was able to run through a farmer's field and get to a nearby highway.

The woman was cross-examined Monday by Mantha's defence lawyers as his trial continued.

"Do you agree with me that one of the issues here is that there has been quite a bit of time passed since the event and that that affects your memory?" asked Andre Ouellette, one of the lawyers.

She said she doesn't recall every detail about that day but there are "solid things" that she does remember.

Ouellette then suggested there are certain things the woman remembers and others she doesn't.

"Some things stand out, is that correct?" he asked the woman. "Yes," she responded.

Ouellette then asked the woman about her drug use at the time.

The woman, who has testified that she's been sober for 18 months, said she had been using drugs off and on for about 24 years but didn't think it affected her memory.

"In some cases it may have, but in this case it does not," she said.

Ouellette also asked her about her statements to police, in which she said she didn't recall some details.

A second witness, a passerby who stopped along the highway, took the stand Monday.

Sybil Pridmore said she had just turned off the Trans-Canada Highway onto a secondary highway toward Langdon, Alta., when she saw a vehicle stopped along the road.

"There was a lady on the ground, on the asphalt of the highway," she said, adding she pulled over to help. Another person was also helping the woman on the ground.

"She was soaking wet and it was cold. And I thought she was going to be sick, because she was heaving."

The woman, she said, was wearing blue jeans but they were pulled down and her backside was bare.

"She wasn't warm enough," said Pridmore. "People were starting to now come up on the highway and people were trying to give us whatever blankets they had and we were just trying to keep her warm."

She added that the woman was covered in mud and had dried blood on her nose.

"Her knuckles, they were all swollen and cut and bloody and dried blood," she said. "She was just so, so cold.

"When you touched her hand, she was cold."

Pridmore testified that she called 911.

"I didn't know what to tell the 911 operator, because I didn't know where she came from," she said.

"There was no shoes, no purse. There was nothing there, just her."

The 911 operator asked Pridmore to ask the woman whether she had been assaulted. Pridmore testified the woman said yes. The woman also said she knew her attacker.

"She said it was Poncho. She said, 'He drugged me.'"

Pridmore said she also asked the woman whether she had been sexually assaulted, and she said yes.

The trial is scheduled to run until Feb. 9.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 22, 2024.