Sask. man charged with dozens of sex crimes involving children

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A Saskatchewan man has been charged with dozens of sex crimes involving children, dating back as far as 2005.

According to the Saskatchewan RCMP, many of the alleged crimes came to light after a search of a home-based daycare in Assiniboia.

Richard Dyke, a 47-year-old Assiniboia man, is facing 14 counts of sexual assault, 14 counts of sexual interference, 23 counts of making child pornography and nine counts of voyeurism. Dyke was previously charged with sexual crimes involving three juvenile male victims, but the scope of the case has expanded greatly since then.

“There are 32 victims in total,” Chief Superintendent Ted Munro, the officer in charge of criminal operations for the Saskatchewan RCMP, said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

“The magnitude of this investigation has proven significant.”

According to Munro, the case came to the attention of police in November of last year, when the Coronach RCMP got a report of a historical sexual assault involving a child.

Police later executed a search warrant at Dyke’s home in Assiniboia, which was also operating as a registered daycare run by his spouse — RCMP said there had also been daycares in Swift Current and Coronach

“At this time there is no evidence to suggest that the spouse was aware of what was taking place, the spouse is currently cooperating with our investigators,” said Munro.

Munro said more than 1.5 million pieces of digital evidence have been examined, and police identified numerous victims who, at the time of the alleged crimes, ranged in age from 18 months to 17 years old. The majority of the victims were male, police said.

“If you were to take that evidence that we located and you were to print that out, it would equate to a six storey building, so you can imagine the amount of evidence that our investigators had to go through,” said Munro.

According to Munro, the alleged crimes happened between 2005 and 2023 in communities including Assiniboia, Coronach, Tisdale, Estevan, Gravelbourg and Swift Current.

Dyke was arrested in November and has remained in custody ever since, Munro said. He was charged on 13 counts then, and 60 more charges were added on Monday.

Munro said the RCMP believe they have identified everyone in the evidence, but a thorough investigation will be completed as there could be more victims in the case. The RCMP noted that Dyke worked as an Air Cadets instructor in southern Saskatchewan, though no victims related to that role have been identified.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to contact the Saskatchewan RCMP.

“Crimes of this nature have a profound impact on victims, their families and the communities in which they occur. They also weigh heavily on investigators who work tirelessly to bring justice for the victims of crime,” said Munro.

Dyke is expected to appear in a Moose Jaw courtroom in June.