Pembroke Priest Charged Again

By Sean Chase
Daily Observer
October 25, 2013

http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/2013/10/25/pembroke-priest-charged-again

PEMBROKE -

A Pembroke priest is facing more charges of gross indecency and indecent assault

Ontario Provincial Police announced this week that Father Dan Miller had been arrested on the new charges connected with historical sexual offences.

The 69-year-old was released on a promise to appear and will make his next court appearance in Pembroke on Nov. 26.

Miller has already plead guilty to five counts of gross indecency and indecent assault. The incidents involving the boys occurred between 1969 and 1980. Police charged him with six counts in February, 2012, however, the crown has since dropped one of the charges. Ordained in Renfrew in 1969, Miller served in parishes in Arnprior, Deep River, Eganville and Petawawa before 1999 when he was suspended by the Pembroke Diocese.

In June, a Pembroke court heard the circumstances of the allegations against Miller. The priest had offered his friendship to the victims, who were between the ages of nine and 13. Many were exploited by the priest because they came from broken or impoverished homes.

Most of the incidents occurred when Miller took his victims to his mother's home in Renfrew. One of the victims was fondled at the rectory at Pikwakanagan First Nation in Golden Lake. In that case, Miller pulled down the boy's underwear and briefly touched his genitals.

Miller is scheduled to be sentenced for these offences by Justice Timothy Ray on Nov. 28. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, Miller faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence due to the indictable nature of the offence, however, the crown is seeking a nine-month jail sentence. His lawyer, Robert Carew, is seeking a conditional sentence noting that his client had no previous criminal record or had breached his conditions. The defense also revealled that attended residential treatment between 1999 and 2000 after realizing he had a problem. Miller also sought further treatment from 2001 to 2003 at the suggestion of his superiors.

Sean Chase is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist

Contact: sean.chase@sunmedia.ca