Tea new wave of charges laid against a former Sarnia newspaper sports reporter and youth basketball coach in a growing historical sexual assault investigation are tied to Sarnia, Chatham, Toronto and two US states and now involve three complainants, new court records show.
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James (Jim) Miller, 59, a former Sarnia resident who now lives in Penticton, BC, was charged in August with two counts each of sexual interference and sexual assault of a person younger than 16, relating to incidents from the late 1980s and early 90s, when the accused was a youth basketball coach in the community, Sarnia police said at the time.
Court records in August listed one complainant and alleged incidents took place in Michigan between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 1989.
But Miller, a newspaper staffer and city councilor in Penticton, now is facing seven counts of sexual interference, three counts of invitation to sexual touching, and one count of sexual assault, Sarnia police said in an update issued Nov. 9. Updated court records now list three complainants and say the alleged incidents took place in Michigan in 1989, in Chatham and Toronto in 1990, in Chicago between 1993 and 1995, and in Sarnia between 1989 and 1995. A final charge is listed as taking place in Canada between October 2000 and July 2024.
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The names of the complainants are redacted and their identities are protected by a publication ban.
Miller was first released on $1,000 bail in August, ordered to live in Penticton, notify police if he moves, not to contact the first complainant, or be in the direct company of anyone younger than 16. Following his Nov. 8 arrest he was released again on updated conditions in BC the next day after appearing virtually in a weekend Southwestern Ontario court. His case returns to court on Dec. 10.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information should call Sarnia Det.-Const. Andrew Veale at 519-344-8861, ext. 6231, police said.
Miller, a former Sarnia Observer reporter, was cleared of similar charges almost two decades ago. He first was charged in Sarnia in 2005 with three counts of sexual assault, one count of sexual interference and two counts of intimidation of a justice system participant, The London Free Press reported at the time. The charges stemmed from a complaint by a man who told police he was assaulted between 1984 and 1986 when he was between six and eight years old, the report said.
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Miller, who was on unpaid leave from the newspaper while the charges were before the courts, was acquitted in 2006, according to multiple reports.
A Penticton city spokesperson in August said Miller, elected in 2021, has been on a mandatory leave of absence through a section of BC’s Community Charter that applies to a council member charged with a criminal offense. He previously was asked by city officials to step back from public events in 2023 when the 2005 case came to light there, according to Castanet, a news website based in Kelowna. In a statement issued July 24, 2023, council said it considered the matter closed and Miller was encouraged to attend community events again.
Castanet reported in September – quoting Okanagan Newspaper Group – that Miller, editor of the Penticton Herald and Kelowna Daily Courier, had been reassigned to desk duties with Okanagan Newspaper Group while his matter is before the court.
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