'I didn't think anyone cared': Court hears from 5th alleged victim of serial rapist
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WARNING: Court proceedings include allegations of sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who's been affected.
When a Calgary police detective sat down to interview a woman one year after she said she was kidnapped, drugged and sexually assaulted, the victim told the officer: "I didn't think anybody cared."
The woman is one of the alleged victims of accused serial rapist Richard Mantha.
CBC News is calling the woman LM in order to comply with a publication ban.
In April 2022, after being dumped on the side of the road following her escape from an RV inside a Quonset hut where she'd woken up naked, LM was picked up by an RCMP officer. The officer told her she was the "second girl that happened to" in a week.
But instead of taking her statement, the officer dropped LM off at a CTrain station in Calgary.
"It was like he didn't seem like he really cared," LM said.
LM is one of seven women the Crown alleges was victimized by Mantha, who is on trial facing 20 charges, including sexual assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance and kidnapping.
In March 2023, LM was interviewed by Staff Staff Sgt. Shelby Stewart about the April 2022 incident.
LM died before trial
In December, she died in a tragic accident in Calgary. For that reason, LM's videotaped interview with police was played in court on Wednesday.
LM told Stewart that she was waiting for a bus in Forest Lawn when a man — who the Crown alleges was Mantha — began circling in a pickup truck, eventually stopping to ask if she wanted a ride.
It was raining and LM said she asked for a ride to the Franklin CTrain Station. When she got in the car, the man asked if she was thirsty and offered her a Sprite.
"It looked like it hadn't been opened," she said.
'A gun on the table'
LM took a couple of big gulps.
"That was all I remember … I was out," said LM. "I thought … he must have put something in it."
LM said the man seemed surprised she'd woken up. She said she was naked except for her bra.
The man from the truck was holding a vibrator. He was smiling.
"I started to freak out," LM told Stewart.
"He had a gun on the table and he told me to shut up or he was gonna shoot me in the face."
'I kicked him'
But LM believed it was an airsoft gun and she began to fight for her escape.
"I kicked him as hard as I could in the chest, and I did actually have a weapon on me then and I told him, 'I'm well known on the streets.'"
She told her attacker, "I'm not scared to just start stabbing you."
LM found her knife and said the man allowed her to get dressed. She demanded he drive her back to where she'd been picked up.
As they left the recreational vehicle, LM realized she'd been driven into a Quonset hut.
'What he would have done'
As they pulled out of the Quonset, LM began looking around, trying to study her surroundings. She believes the man caught her looking around.
LM told Stewart that the man undid her seatbelt, opened the passenger door and shoved her out of the truck.
"I think he tried to run over me but I rolled," she told the officer.
LM began walking toward the community of Langdon, about 15 kilometres east of Calgary. Eventually a woman pulled over and called RCMP.
After the officer dropped her off in Calgary, LM said she saw the same man in Forest Lawn.
She was scared.
"All I was thinking about was what he would have done if I hadn't waked up."
'We think we know who it is'
LM was then able to point out on a map where she'd been taken that day in April 2022.
The location was on Vale View Road. It was the same location on the same road where Mantha had been renting a Quonset from an acreage owner.
LM was curious about why Calgary police were talking to her now? And how did they find her?
"How did you guys find out about it," she asked Stewart.
'It took a lot of courage'
The officer explained that she and her partner had begun looking at files with similarities. They got her name through RCMP.
"We think we know who he is," she told LM.
"We're working really hard to make sure no other girls get hurt.… I want you to know that. I know that it took a lot of courage."
Mantha was arrested and charged 10 days later.
If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the .
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