Penticton City Coun. James Miller is due back in Ontario court at the start of 2025 for the ongoing criminal proceedings over alleged historic sex crimes against minors.
Miller is currently on mandatory leave under the community charter from his position as city councillor and has been since he was arrested on Aug. 1 on a Canada-wide warrant.
His case was spoken to in Sarnia, ON., on Dec. 10, with another court date scheduled to follow on Jan. 7, 2025.
Miller was initially charged with two counts of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault on a person under the age of 16 following two separate historical sexual assault investigations in Sarnia.
In November, further charges were brought forward by the Sarnia Police Service, and he now faces 11 total counts, with seven counts of sexual interference and three counts of invitation to sexual touching alongside the sexual assault.
None of the charges have been proven in court, and no plea has been entered yet by Miller as confirmed by the Sarnia Courthouse on Dec. 11.
The additional charges in November came after additional victims were identified by police during their ongoing investigations.
The Okanagan Newspaper Group posted in their coverage of Miller's charges that he had been placed on administrative desk duties at the Penticton Herald, where he works as managing editor.
Following the announcement of the second set of charges a public Change.org petition sparked, calling on Miller to resign his position as a city councillor due to his inability to fulfill his duties.
The petition cites an article Miller wrote for the Herald in 2021, wherein he called for then city councillor Jake Kimberley to resign due to being unable to attend council meetings following a stroke.
At the time Kimberley would resign, and the ensuing by-election saw Miller elected for the first time.
"We are nearing four months of an absence of James Miller on council and we are all well aware of the speed of trials in our justice system," wrote petition organizer Ajeet Brar. "While this is a good thing because we want to ensure that we are operating under the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, it has real-world consequences we must address in the interim."
Miller had previously taken a shorter leave of absence in 2023 after information about a past trial and acquittal over similar charges in 2006 was brought to light.
A by-election is currently being prepared for the spring in order to replace MLA Amelia Boultbee at the council table.
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield stated at the Dec. 3 regular city council meeting that he would be speaking with councillors to determine whether any would be leaving to seek federal office in 2025's election, as well as reaching out to Miller to seek his intentions for the remaining two years of the council term.
The current investigations are still ongoing, and the Sarnia Police Service is looking to speak with anyone who may have additional information.
