Penticton city councillor facing new charges for decades-old sex crimes

Penticton city councillor James Miller is facing new sex crime charges relating allegations from when he was a youth basketball coach in Ontario.  Miller, 59, was a youth basketball coach in Sarnia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault on a person under 16 following a complaint made to Sarnia police back in August. Miller is now facing more charges because police have identified additional victims since his initial arrest. He is currently charged with seven counts of sexual interference, three counts of invitation to sexual touching, and one count of sexual assault, according to a press release from the Sarnia Police Service. Miller was put on paid mandatory leave from city council after he was arrested in August. He has attended Sarnia court virtually and police have released him with conditions in B.C. He is still the editor for the Penticton Herald and the Kelowna Daily Courier. 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 This isn’t the first time Miller has dealt with sex crime allegations related to his time as a basketball coach. In 2005 Miller dealt with similar charges for alleged incidents between 1986 and 2005, but the charges were eventually dropped. The City of Penticton asked him to avoid public appearances when the allegations were brought up last year. “Since the charges were dismissed, I have moved on with my personal and professional life, believing that this difficult time in my past was now behind me and no longer relevant,” Miller said in a statement at the time. “It is troubling that someone has now attempted to make this old court case news, but I trust people in this community will judge me on the work I have done on their behalf as a councillor and as editor of a local newspaper. My present goals remain to work for the citizens of Penticton as one of their councillors and to continue my profession as a journalist.” Miller’s trial date will be decided this week. 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. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 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 .