Accused serial rapist is brought to justice; Cleveland police fear there may still be more victims

On November 20, 2024By Pranco

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Shaker Heights man accused of raping three women between May 1, 2021 and March 31, 2023 was arraigned Wednesday in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

Michael Mann, 52, pleaded not guilty to all charges and the judge set bond at $750,000.

If Mann builds a bond, he will have to be on a GPS monitoring device.

O’Malley said Mann would message women through online advertisements and offer them $2,000 or more to work as a server at a private event or a high-stakes poker game at a Cleveland hotel.

“Michael Mann is a heinous individual who targeted innocent women who responded to employment opportunities,” said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley.

Mann sometimes used the aliases Rick, Rico, Ricardo and R, O’Malley said.

Once the women arrived at the hotel, Mann allegedly demanded a sum of money for the hotel room deposit and then sexually assaulted them.

O’Malley said they believe there are more victims, including victims from before 2021 and as late as 2024.

“People can’t do this. When more women come forward and speak out and speak out about what happened to them, it shows that this is not acceptable,” said Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Megan Helton.

Helton added that the attacks they know occurred in downtown Cleveland, but Mann would reach women throughout Northeast Ohio.

“We know that he is contacting women from the Akron Canton area and other areas asking to travel and so it is entirely possible that he did this in other areas,” Helton said.

If you have any information about these incidents or any additional incidents, or believe you are a victim, please call Cleveland Division of Police Sex Crimes Unit Detective Richard Jackson at 216-623-5726.

Mann was charged with:

Five rapes
Three counts of kidnapping
One count of attempted rape
One count of gross sexual imposition

He will return to court on November 25 for a preliminary examination.