Penticton city councilor charged with historical youth sex crimes

A Penticton city councilor has been arrested and charged with historical sexual offenses against a youth in Ontario.

The Sarnia Police Service has charged James Miller, 59, with two counts of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault on a person under the age of 16 related to incidents in 1989.

“Earlier this year, the Sarnia Police Service Criminal Investigations Division received a complaint regarding historical sexual offenses (in 1989),” the Sarnia police said in a statement.

“These offenses occurred during a period when the accused volunteered as a youth basketball coach. The victim, now an adult, was a young person at the time.”

Penticton RCMP executed a Canada-wide warrant and arrested Miller on Thursday morning.

He appeared by video in a Sarnia courtroom. According to Sarnia news reports, Miller was granted release on $1,000 bail.

Miller, who is also the managing editor of the Penticton Herald newspaper, was elected to a Penticton city councilor in a 2021 byelection and re-elected to a full term in 2022.

Last July, Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield asked him to step aside from public events on behalf of the city when reports arose of earlier criminal charges.

Court records and media reports revealed Miller was charged and acquitted of similar offenses in Sarnia in 2005.

He was reinstated after a city staff investigation and report.

The City of Penticton says Miller has been placed on a leave of absence.

Under BC’s Community Charter, which sets out the basic rules and legal guidelines for local governments, the suspension is mandatory when any BC elected municipal official is facing criminal charges,

“As this matter is before the courts, and out of respect for all parties involved, no further comment will be provided,” the city said in a written statement.