A Penticton city councillor will be returning to the Okanagan as a sex offender after he was convicted of abusing a young boy more than two decades ago.

James Miller, 60, returned to an Ontario courtroom more than four months after his first of two trials this year on historic sex crimes, where a judge read out guilty verdicts on five of seven criminal charges.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Russell Raike said Miller’s evidence was “inconsistent” and he did not believe the defence.

“I find Mr. Miller’s denials ring hollow when measured against the accounts of (the victim) and other former students,” Raike said in court today, Sept. 18.

The case centred around allegations from two men who played for a basketball team as boys under Miller’s leadership.

Miller, 60, stood trial in Ontario twice this year where he was accused of sexually abusing three boys he once coached on a youth basketball team. Now adults, the three victims came forward with the allegations more than 20 years later. The first trial involved two of those victims.

In the first trial, one alleged Miller sexually touched him twice, once at a rest stop in Michigan and a second time after a sleepover with his teammates. The judge acquitted Miller of those allegations, noting he “did not who to believe” and was left with some doubt.

The other said, among his allegations, Miller kissed him on the lips multiple times. Raike found Miller was grooming him, attempting to act as a father figure and had even masturbated over the boy during a sleepover.

“I find (his) account of sexual abuse at the hands of Mr. Miller to be compelling and I believe him,” Raike said.

Miller coached basketball teams for 17 years in Sarnia, Ontario before moving to B.C., but it’s not the first time he faced similar allegations. In 2005, he was acquitted of similar charges. The three alleged victims came forward after Miller was elected to Penticton city council in 2022.

He admitted to giving some boys extra attention, including one-on-one overnight trips to professional sports games and hosting them at his own home.

He was charged in 2024 and suspended from city council duties shortly after, but his council salary continued during that time. Miller also continued his work as an editor for the Penticton Herald until the trials concluded, then left on unpaid leave through the summer.

His second trial ended in May and Miller is still waiting for a verdict and he remains on bail while awaiting a sentence for the first.

The Crown told the court today it will be seeking a “lengthy” sentence, but Raike denied a request to revoke Miller’s bail.

He did not plan to run for re-election this October.

Upon his conviction, Miller is immediately disqualified from local government office. He will no longer be paid and he cannot hold office again.

The City of Penticton said in a press release today that his mandatory leave as a city councillor ended with his conviction and his seat on council is now vacant. His seat will be vacant until the municipal election in October.