Montreal billionaire Robert Miller’s sex crimes trial postponed until December

Lawyers for Montreal billionaire Robert Miller asked a judge Tuesday for a delay in his sex crime trial, arguing that his failing health makes it difficult to discuss the Crown’s evidence with him.

The 81-year-old founder of Future Electronics was arrested in May on 21 sex-related charges involving ten complainants, many of whom were minors at the time of the alleged crimes between 1994 and 2016. One of the alleged victims was under the age of 30 . 14.

Miller, who has denied the allegations, is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, enticing a person to engage in prostitution, sexual exploitation and sexual intercourse for pecuniary interest with a minor.

In court in Quebec on Tuesday, Crown attorney Myriam Corbeil told Judge Mélanie Hébert she was willing to set a trial date, estimating the case against Miller would last about five weeks.

Miller’s attorneys asked for the case to be postponed because their client remains extremely ill and bedridden. They added that going through the evidence with him is complicated.

“We are still in what we call the intake phase,” lawyer Isabella Teolis told the court. “Baby steps don’t describe the situation.”

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Hébert postponed the case until December 12.

Defense attorneys Teolis and Nicholas St-Jacques are also waiting for further disclosure of evidence and want to examine the documents before deciding whether to request a jury trial or a judge alone.

Corbeil told the judge that the case consists primarily of testimony and that the additional disclosure will not change the essence of the Crown’s presentation.

Miller is battling Parkinson’s disease. St-Jacques noted that reviewing the volume of evidence with him would take approximately two and a half months if done on a full-time basis, a frequency she said is not possible given his condition.

A Quebec Superior Court judge in June declined to hear the request to stay proceedings, saying the question of Miller’s fitness to stand trial could be decided by a judge.

Miller stepped down as chairman and CEO of Future Electronics in February 2023, saying he would focus on protecting his reputation and his health concerns. He faces separate allegations in a proposed class action lawsuit by dozens of women who claim he gave them money and gifts in exchange for sex between 1996 and 2006, when they were minors.

As many as fifty alleged victims are involved in the lawsuit. A consent hearing is expected in the coming months or early 2025. Miller denies the allegations, which have not been tested in court.

The hearing Tuesday also included the case against Teresita Fuentes, an alleged accomplice of Miller. Fuentes, 67, is accused of obtaining sexual services in connection with one of Miller’s alleged victims.

Valérie Abdelahad-Acosta, a lawyer representing Fuentes, told the court that her client is also struggling with health problems and is about to undergo surgery for a medical problem. Fuentes lives at the same address as Miller.

In her case, which is separate from Miller’s but part of the same police investigation, Corbeil told the court the Crown’s office is ready to proceed with a three-day trial.

Attorneys for Fuentes and Miller declined to comment after Tuesday’s joint hearing. Both cases will appear in court on December 12.