Trial begins in Calgary for man accused of kidnapping, drugging, sexually assaulting 7 women [Video]

After a string of delays, the trial for Richard Mantha got underway in a Calgary courtroom on Wednesday.

Mantha is accused of kidnapping, drugging and sexually assaulting seven women between September 2020 and March of 2023 — most of them sex trade workers.

He was arrested in 2023 and has pleaded not guilty.

Mantha was initially supposed to go to trial in January of 2024, but the trial was delayed after Mantha fired his lawyer, then suffered a stoke several months later.

During a hearing last fall, a forensic psychiatrist testified while the stroke may have affected Mantha’s cognitive capacity and reduced his verbal skills, he was still fit to stand trial.

On Wednesday, the court heard testimony from a woman named Kathleen Budzey, who told the court she was driving toward Highway 22X in early April of 2022 when she spotted a woman walking who appeared to be staggering and appeared out of place.

After stopping to ask the woman if …