Sask. man previously charged with sexual assault against children now faces 60 new charges

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."

Munro said that so far in the investigation no evidence has been found to suggest that Dyke's spouse was aware of his activities.

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

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.

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.

In an email statement Tuesday afternoon, the Canadian Cadet Organization said in a statement that it was aware of Dyke's arrest. It said Dyke, who was a "Cadet Instructors Cadre officer," was placed on administrative duties and directed to have no contact with cadets or staff as of Nov. 27, 2023.

"Each case of alleged sexual misconduct is handled on an individual basis. Any staff member or cadet who has engaged in, or attempted to engage in, a criminal sexual act will be permanently removed from the Cadet Program," it said.

The statement noted that all adults who work in the cadet program are required to get police record checks and undergo vulnerable sector screening every five years.