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Richard Dyke appeared in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Monday afternoon before Judge Brian Hendrickson, and through his lawyer Estes Fonkalsrud entered guilty pleas for each of the offences he is charged with — his intention, communicated by Dyke personally to those in the courtroom, was to bring the matters to a close with the least pain possible for the victims and their families.
[Content warning: Descriptions of sexual abuse that may upset some readers.]
A publication ban was imposed by Judge Hendrickson barring the publication or distribution of any information that might reveal the individual identities of the victims.
The court appearance was a drawn-out affair before a full audience. Dozens of courtroom attendees sat quietly and listened, occasionally weeping, as Senior Crown Prosecutor Stephen Yusuff slowly and carefully read through an agreed statement of facts. Many of those affected submitted victim impact statements, but these were not read to the court.
Dyke, now 48 and noticeably thinner since being incarcerated, was initially arrested at a home-based daycare in Assiniboia in November 2023 after a victim's father reported him to RCMP. The RCMP initially believed the incidents took place in the mid-2010s and involved three boys, all under the age of 12 at the time.
Upon further investigation, RCMP announced 60 additional charges in May 2024, identifying 29 additional victims.
By Mr. Yusuff's count in court yesterday, the number of victims is 33, ranging in age from only a few months old, up to 20 years old. Most were boys under the age of 12, although Dyke also victimized girls.
Dyke admitted to beginning a child pornography collection in 1997. For decades, he grew that collection by taking advantage of any relationship that gave him access to children, including a home daycare run by his then-wife. He installed small, secret cameras in bathrooms, and took advantage of moments alone to further photograph his victims in pornographic ways.
His crimes included masturbating young boys, and forcing them to masturbate him, as well as showing them adult, and in some cases child pornography.
Upon his arrest, Dyke admitted to his crimes and began assisting investigators in identifying each victim, which is why the defense and prosecution are relatively confident in the total number of victims. When investigators found child pornography in which the perpetrator could not be clearly identified, Dyke confirmed to police that he was the man in the images.
Accorded to the agreed statement of facts, Dyke did not distribute his collection, nor profit from it financially. He never penetrated his victims, only manually stimulating them and himself. Fonkalsrud noted that Dyke's father has been convicted of similar crimes — Dyke refused to confirm whether he was abused as a child, only acknowledging his father's actions.
Dyke sat still and quiet through the proceedings, rarely looking up. Judge Hendrickson gave him the opportunity to read a statement he had prepared, in which he accepted full responsibility for his crimes. He said he could not ask for forgiveness, only hope that with time his victims and their families would heal from the traumas he inflicted.
Fonkalsrud and Yusuff gave Hendrickson a joint submission in which they recommended incarceration for a total of 17 years, less time served to that point. They read into the record several previous cases that are similar and cited judicial precedent in arriving at the number. Yusuff noted Dyke's co-operation and his forgoing of trials on any counts as being in his favour, without mitigating the severity of his actions. He said that it will be the longest sentence ever imposed in Saskatchewan for sexual crimes against children.
Hendrickson told those present that he would "almost certainly" follow the joint submission recommendation of 17 years. However, he wanted time to go over everything that was submitted, including the victim impact statements.
Dyke was remanded in custody until Wednesday, May 21st at 1:30 p.m., at which time Judge Hendrickson will pass sentence.