Woman tells Calgary sex assault trial accused attacker offered her construction work

One of seven women who have accused a man of sexual assault says she was trying to leave the sex trade when he approached her on the street and offered her construction work.

One of seven women who have accused a man of sexual assault says she was trying to leave the sex trade in April 2022 when he approached her on the street and offered her construction work.

The woman, who can't be identified because of a publication ban, said she knew the man who went by the nickname "Poncho" as an acquaintance and even thought he was a friend.

"He picked me up and had taken me for a ride, and we had discussed how I could help him with some of my talents as a trade person, because I had construction experience, framing experience," she testified in a Calgary courtroom on Friday, the first day of a trial for Richard Robert Mantha.

"We had talked about how I was trying to step back from my line of work that I had found myself in, as an addict and … a working girl, somebody who solicits (sex)."

Mantha, 59, faces 20 charges that include kidnapping, threats causing bodily harm, sexual assault with a weapon and administering a noxious substance.

He was denied bail last summer and has been in custody since he was arrested in April 2023.

Mantha, who has ties to Quebec, requested a French-language trial, which is relatively rare in Alberta's provincial courts but legally required.