Penticton City Coun. James Miller is due back in court in December following additional charges being laid against him in Ontario and amid growing calls for his resignation.
A court appearance in Sarnia on Nov. 12 was spoken to and put over, following seven additional charges being sworn against him on Nov. 10.
The additional charges have emerged from the ongoing investigation by the Sarnia Police Service into historical sexual assault allegations in the 1980s and 1990s when Miller was a youth basketball coach in the Ontario community.
Miller currently faces 11 charges:
- Sexual interferences (seven counts)
- Invitation to sexual touching (three counts)
- Sexual assault (one count)
None of the charges have been proven in court, and the Sarnia Courthouse confirmed by email that no plea has been entered yet and no trial date has been set.
Miller was initially arrested on Aug. 1 following a Canada-wide warrant for four charges, before being released on bail. The additional charges have come as additional victims were identified during the investigation.
Shortly after his arrest in August, Miller was placed on mandatory leave as a city councillor, and the Okanagan 亚洲天堂paper Group posted in their coverage of his 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.
The current investigations are still ongoing, and the Sarnia Police Service is looking to speak with anyone who may have additional information.
