MONTREAL — Montreal billionaire Robert Miller is facing criminal charges of sexual misconduct involving a new complainant who was under the age of 14 when the alleged offences began.
The 81-year-old founder of global electronics firm Future Electronics was arrested in May on 21 sex-related counts involving 10 other complainants, many of them minors at the time of the alleged offences between 1994 and 2016.
Miller now faces three additional charges of sexual interference with a person under the age of 16, sexual exploitation of a minor and obtaining sexual services from a minor. His case was in court Thursday.
The crimes allegedly occurred between 1995 and 2000, beginning when the woman was younger than 14. Miller had previously been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, enticing a person to commit prostitution, sexual exploitation and sexual intercourse for consideration with a minor.
A Quebec court judge set Miller's next court date for Feb. 25 to determine whether he wants to be tried by a jury or in front of a judge alone. Crown attorney Delphine Mauger told the judge she is ready to proceed with the trial.
A lawyer representing Teresita Fuentes, an alleged accomplice of Miller, also appeared in court Thursday. Fuentes, 67, is facing a charge of procuring sexual services in connection with one of Miller's alleged victims. Her case will also return to court on Feb. 25.
An investigative report in February 2023 by Radio-Canada and the CBC said Miller allegedly gave cash and gifts to minors in exchange for sex between 1994 and 2006. Miller allegedly identified himself as an American businessman named Bob Adams who travelled frequently to Montreal, and the encounters are alleged to have taken place in Montreal hotels and a private home in Westmount, Que.
Montreal police investigated in 2008 and 2009 but the Crown declined to press charges. Fifteen years later, after the 2023 investigative report, police reopened the case and civil lawsuits began to be filed.
The billionaire is now facing several civil lawsuits in addition to the criminal charges, including a class action that has not yet been authorized. A lawyer for the plaintiffs in that lawsuit has said 51 women have signed up to be members of the class, but the actual number could be as high as 100.
Miller, who has denied the allegations, is battling Parkinson's disease and his lawyers have said reviewing evidence with him is complicated because he is extremely ill and bedridden.
Miller stepped down as chairman and CEO of Future Electronics in February 2023, saying he would focus on protecting his reputation and on his health issues.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024.
Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press