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Accused serial intercourse offender Richard Mantha will study Friday morning if he’ll face separate trials — as an alternative of just one — on allegations of sexual assault and confinement dedicated towards seven girls.
There are too many variations between the seven circumstances to warrant a consolidated trial for Mantha, defence lawyer Kim Arial advised the Alberta Court docket of Justice Wednesday.
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The scale and complexity of the case would additionally have an effect on Mantha’s capability to defend himself, she added.
The Crown contends that regardless of the various variations between the experiences of every of the complainants, there are sufficient similarities to conduct a single trial.
A number of trials would additionally result in the inefficient administration of justice and violate victims’ rights, argued prosecutor Dominique Mathurin.
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A ruling on Mantha’s utility will come down Friday, stated Justice Judith Shrier, after which a trial would start instantly no matter her resolution.
Mantha’s proceedings are being performed in French, which is an unusual prevalence for high-profile legal circumstances in Alberta.
In July 2023, Arial advised court docket she would apply to have a trial in French for Mantha, a proper assured beneath Part 530 of the Felony Code of Canada, which permits accused individuals to request authorized proceedings in both of the nation’s official languages.
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Mantha, 59, faces 20 fees in reference to allegations he sexually abused seven girls and one further cost of failing to look in court docket.
He’s additionally accused of incapacitating six of the complainants by giving them medicine.
Mantha was arrested in April 2023 after police performed an intensive raid on a property east of Chestermere.
Performed by Calgary police and members of the RCMP, the days-long search over the Easter lengthy weekend occurred at an acreage on Vale View Highway between Chestermere and Langdon.
The prolonged search on the property — about 20 kilometres from Calgary’s japanese metropolis limits and a brief distance south of the Trans-Canada Freeway — concerned forensic and canine models, with officers seen conducting grid searches and tossing baggage of proof into unmarked police automobiles.
Police had remained tight-lipped about their search of the property, the place Mantha was a tenant.
Calgary police Supt. Cliff O’Brien stated on the time that “1000’s” of displays have been taken as proof from the property, the place Mantha rented an outbuilding, and confirmed cadaver canine have been used within the investigation.
Mantha, who has ties to Quebec, was denied bail final summer season and has been in custody since his arrest.
With recordsdata from Kevin Martin
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