Sask. Man Previously Charged With Sexual Assault Against Children Now Faces 60 New Charges | CBC News

Saskatoon

Warning: this story contains distressing details.

Police say they have identified 29 other victims, ranging in age from 18 months to 17 years

Pratyush Dayal · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2024 4:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

RCMP say a man from Assiniboia previously charged with 13 sex crimes against children is now facing 60 new charges. Richard John Dyke was initially arrested in November 2023. (Matt Howard/Radio-Canada)Warning: this story contains distressing details.

A man from Assiniboia, Sask., who was already in custody charged with sex crimes against children, is now facing 60 more charges after further investigation into alleged sexual assaults of minors over an 18-year time span, RCMP say.

Police arrested Richard John Dyke, now 47, whose home was a licensed daycare, in November 2023.

He was charged with 13 total sex offences after police said investigators had determined three boys younger than 12 were sexually assaulted in the mid-2010s.

In a news conference Tuesday, RCMP said they have identified 29 additional victims, all youth between the ages of 18 months and 17 years of age when the offences occurred, with the majority being male.

The alleged offences date from as far back as 2005 to November 2023.

“The magnitude of this investigation has proven significant. Investigators have analyzed over one-and-a-half million pieces of digital evidence. They were obtained from 24 terabytes of seized electronic devices,” Chief Supt. Ted Munro, the officer in charge of criminal operations for the Saskatchewan RCMP, told reporters.

“If you were to take that evidence we located and you were to print that out, it will equate to a six storey building of paper.”

WATCH | RCMP announce 60 new charges against Sask. man previously charged with sexual assault against children: 

RCMP announce 60 new charges against Sask. man previously charged with sexual assault against childrenSaskatchewan RCMP’s criminal operations officer, Chief Supt. Ted Munro, announced new charges against Richard Dyke, who was first charged in November 2023. The investigation has identified 29 additional victims, with officers examining more than 1.5 million pieces of digital evidence taken from 2005 to 2023.

Dyke has remained in custody since his arrest in November 2023.

Munro said the new charges laid against Dyke this week are 14 counts of sexual assault, 14 counts of sexual interference, 23 counts of making child pornography and nine counts of voyeurism. He is scheduled to appear in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on June 4 at 10 a.m. CST.

Richard John Dyke, 46, is now facing an additional 14 additional counts of sexual assault, 14 counts of sexual interference, nine counts of voyeurism and 23 counts of making child pornography. (Facebook)Munro said there are now 32 known victims in total, and that they came into contact with Dyke in a variety of scenarios from 2005 to 2023.

The victims were located in the Saskatchewan cities and towns of Tisdale, Estevan, Coronach, Assiniboia, Gravelbourg and Swift Current, Munro said.

“Some of the victims came into contact with Richard Dyke while he attended the home-based daycares,” Munro said.

Dyke was also an instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, but police said they have not identified any victims in relation to his role with the Air Cadet program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pratyush Dayal covers climate change, immigration and race and gender issues among general news for CBC News in Saskatchewan. He has previously written for the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and the Tyee. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from UBC and can be reached at pratyush.dayal@cbc.ca

Follow Pratyush Dayal on XFollow Pratyush Dayal on Instagram

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *