Penticton city councillor addresses sex crime allegations against fellow councillor

A Penticton city councillor and newspaper editor was arrested on Thursday for decades-old sex crime allegations, and now a fellow councillor has addressed the situation.  Penticton RCMP arrested councillor James Matthew Miller, 59, who is facing two counts of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault on a person under 16. The accusations stem from Miller’s time as a basketball coach in Sarnia, Ont. from 1986 to 2005. A complaint to Sarnia police alleged Miller sexually assaulted a child while volunteering as a basketball coach in 1989. Miller faced similar charges and allegations in Sarnia in 2005 but the case was dismissed. When the allegations were brought up again a year ago Miller was asked to avoid public events on behalf of the city. Penticton city councillor, and Conservative MLA candidate Amelia Boultbee released a statement on social media https://www.facebook.com/amelia.boultbee addressing the allegations against Miller. READ MORE: Penticton councillor, newspaper editor arrested, allegations of decades-old sex crimes https://infotel.ca/newsitem/penticton-councillor-newspaper-editor-arrested-allegations-of-decades-old-sex-crimes/it105976 “When we found out last year he had been tried and acquitted I supported him on the basis that he was acquitted of those allegations and have known James to be nothing other than a pillar of the community,” Boultbee said in her post. “These new allegations and charges are a different situation.” Boultbee said her statement is in her capacity as an MLA candidate. She said that although the allegations are disturbing, the justice system will determine the truth. “The news of these charges has left me deeply shocked and saddened. We put a high level of trust in our elected officials and it is disturbing when such serious allegations are made,” she said. “The legal process must run its course and justice must be served. I will not prejudge the outcome which is in the hands of the court.” Miller is currently on a mandatory leave of absence from the city while his case goes before the court. He will continue to get paid. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for any further statements to be made given that this matter is before the courts,” Boultbee said. Miller has been the editor at the Penticton Herald since 2008, and a city councillor since 2021. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .