A 47-year-old Assiniboia man who was arrested in November of 2023 for sexual offences against children will be facing additional charges.
When Richard Dyke was arrested, he was charged with offences against three boys under the age of 12. He was arrested after a search warrant was executed at a registered home-based daycare in Assiniboia.
After the arrest, investigators identified 29 additional victims between the ages of 18 months and 17 years old. The RCMP says the offences took place between 2005 and 2023. According to police, the majority of the victims are male.
“It’s a significant amount of victims. We can’t speak on the number of ones that have taken place in the province, I don’t know. But, what I can tell you is that this is a very significant case in the amount of victims we have and the amount of evidence that we’ve received and found during the course of our investigation,” said Chief Supt. Ted Munro, Saskatchewan RCMP’s Criminal Operations Officer.
Saskatchewan’s RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) and the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit continue to investigate. To date, investigators have analyzed 1.5 million pieces of digital evidence and have seized 24 terabytes of electronic devices.
“What I can say is that if you were to take that evidence that we located and you were to print that out, it would equate to a six-story building of paper. So, you can imagine the amount of evidence that our investigators had to go through,” said Munro.
Dyke is now facing 60 charges including the following additional charges:
- 14 counts of sexual assault
- 14 counts of sexual interference
- Nine counts of voyeurism
- 23 counts of making child pornography
Munro said the offences impact the communities of Tisdale, Estevan, Coronach, Assiniboia, Gravelbourg and Swift Current. He added that the majority of the victims came into contact with Dyke at home-based daycares.
“Some of the victims that came into contact with Richard Dyke while he attended the home-based daycares. The daycares operated in the following communities: Coronach, Swift Current and Assiniboia,” said Munro.
Munro confirmed that the daycare was operated by Dyke’s spouse, that his spouse had no knowledge about what had happened and has been co-operating with police.
The RCMP say Dyke was also an instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in several communities in Southern Saskatchewan, but no victims have been identified through his role with the air cadets.
RCMP are continuing to investigate with the GIS and ICE units to determine if there are additional victims. Anyone with additional information or may have been a victim are asked to contact your local RCMP detachment or call 310-RCMP.
“Crimes of this nature have a profound impact on victims, their families and the communities in which they occur,” Munro said.
“They also weigh heavily on investigators who work tirelessly to bring justice for the victims of crime. The Saskatchewan RCMP remain committed to a complete and thorough investigation and follow up on every tip and lead we receive.”
Dyke is expected to make his next court appearance on June 4 in Moose Jaw Provincial Court.