‘I didn’t want to cry in front of him’: Fourth Calgary woman testifies she was raped by Richard Mantha

It was an emotional day in court for a soft spoken Calgary woman who testified she was raped by Richard Mantha in 2020, when she was grieving the death of her husband.

The woman, whom CBC News will identify as JW,  was the fourth woman to testify at Mantha’s trial. There are seven alleged victims in total.

Mantha, 59, faces 20 charges and is accused of targeting vulnerable women who were in Calgary’s sex trade and/or struggled with drug addiction.

JW told Justice Judith Shriar that she was addicted to fentanyl at the time of the alleged assault.

In the spring of 2020, JW lived at a friend’s place in the city’s southeast. Mantha also lived on the property at the time.

‘I said no’

That September, JW’s friend was admitted to hospital and had asked Mantha to check on the house and on JW.

One evening, Mantha brought food and a Slurpee over to JW.

As they sat on her bed and ate, JW says Mantha also shared drugs with her — she was using fentanyl that night.

Mantha began initiating sexual contact, said JW.

Prosecutor Dominique Mathurin asked how JW felt about Mantha’s advances.

“Kind of like I’m feeling right now: nervous,” JW told the prosecutor. “I said ‘no.'”

Mantha returns to the house

JW said the fentanyl caused her to feel sleepy, “and it’s kind of a blur from there,” she said.

“I know we had sex and I know I didn’t want to and I know I said ‘no’ and then I woke up.”

The next morning, JW says, she woke up and Mantha was gone. Memories of the night before began to creep in.

It wasn’t long before Mantha returned, asking for a ride to pick up his mail, JW says.

“I was caught off guard,” she testified. “I didn’t want to cry in front of him.”

JW says she asked Mantha to leave while she showered.

“I went back in my room, sat on my bed. I was crying and figuring out what to do,” JW told the court.

JW testified that when she started her car, Mantha walked over and insisted on driving.

‘He told me I enjoyed it’

During the drive, JW says she confronted Mantha about the night before. At first, he denied that there had been sex, but Mantha eventually confirmed it happened, she said.

“He told me I enjoyed it,” said JW.

“I remember saying ‘I didn’t want to,’ I told him that I didn’t want to.”

In cross-examination, JW acknowledged to defence lawyer André Ouellette that her drug use has affected her memory over time.

JW said she was clean for years but the trauma of losing her husband caused her to fall back into active addiction.

Ouellette also suggested that Mantha “hated” fentanyl and didn’t want her to use it to the point that he bought her a car.

JW agreed.

Shriar is set to hear two more weeks of evidence.

Defence lawyers Kim Arial and Andre Ouellette have not yet had the chance to present their case to the court.