Penticton councillor’s second sex crimes trial to start this month

A Penticton city councillor will be tried for a second set of historic sex crime allegations while he awaits a judge’s decision on the verdict from his first trial.

The first trial in ended with closing arguments, May 4, but James Miller will head back to a Sarnia, Ontario courtroom in two weeks to hear from more alleged victims before the verdict from the first trial is heard. It’s not clear when the judge will return with a decision, but lawyers will convene early next month to schedule a hearing.

Miller, 60, has been on mandatory paid leave from city council since he was charged in the summer of 2024 with numerous allegations of sex crimes against children. He continues to work as the managing editor of the Penticton Herald and Kelowna Courier.

More than a year ago an online petition, which collected more than 1,200 signatures, called for his resignation, but Miller has committed to finishing his council term. That term will come to an end in October, but it’ll be cut short if he’s convicted on any of the criminal charges he’s facing.

The charges surround his former volunteer work as a youth basketball coach in Sarnia. He’s facing accusations from three alleged victims, with the first trial centred around just one of them.

During last week’s trial, the Crown alleged Miller had sexually abused a boy in the mid-1990s, whom he met while coaching. As the years went on and the alleged victim grew into an adult, Miller is accused of giving him gifts and money as a reward for his silence, the Crown said.

Miller denied the allegations and said they had a friendship that started when the alleged victim was in his teens and continued into adulthood, with the pair last meeting in June 2024, when Miller gave him $2,000 toward a new car.

The allegations from all three victims were originally expected to be dealt with in one trial, but they were severed and the second trial is now scheduled to begin on May 19, according to Ontario court records.

Until the court finds Miller not guilty on all counts, or at least one guilty verdict is delivered, he’ll remain on paid leave from city council, earning a salary of more than $28,000 per year.