Monday, August 22, 2011

Warrant Outlines Sexual Conversations Berlin Priest Had With 13-Year-Old Boy

A Berlin priest who is facing five felony counts admitted to Berlin police detectives that he on at least two occasions offered oral sex to a 13-year-old boy he knew from his work at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church.

The Rev. Michael Miller, who faces five counts of risk of injury to a minor and one count of attempted obscenity, was in court Tuesday to face those charges.

The warrant for his arrest was also unsealed.

The six-page document, prepared by Berlin police Det. Sgt. John McCormack, tells the story of a concerned mother who contacted police after finding what she viewed as inappropriate conversations between her son and Miller.

The conversations took place online on Facebook and through text messaging on cellphones.
Miller, 41, has been suspended from the ministry by the Archdiocese of Hartford.

Miller, according to the warrant, engaged in increasingly sexually graphic conversations with the boy and questioned the boy about his sexual development. 

The priest also told the boy about his own sexual experiences with men, the warrant reads. 

The boy told police that Miller never touched him.

Miller told the boy he watched pornographic movies and described sex acts that he said he enjoyed, according to the warrant.

He also told the boy he was planning to meet a man at for sex at a motel on the Berlin Turnpike, the warrant reads.

On July 3, after interviewing the boy, police began looking for Miller to question him. They found his car at a Berlin Turnpike motel and staked it out until he left the motel about 10 p.m. that day, according to the warrant. McCormack and a colleague approached Miller and asked him to go to the police department for an interview.

According to the warrant, he admitted to the detectives that he'd been conversing with the boy on Facebook and via text messages and that the discussions were sexual and inappropriate.

He also acknowledged having a Facebook account under the alias Brenden Duvey to avoid what he described as "stalkers" at the church, according to the warrant. He'd told the boy that the sisters at the church did not approve of his using Facebook.

The priest also allowed detectives to seize his computer and cellphone for a forensic analysis.

On July 4, Miller was taken by helicopter to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center for an undisclosed medical condition. He was arrested July 12 and is free on $150,000 bail.

"The State of Connecticut unsealed the arrest affadavit detailing the information underlying the criminal charges brought against Fr. Miller yesterday," Maria Zone, director of communications for the archdiocese, said in an e-mail Wednesday.

"The Archdiocese of Hartford and the Franciscan Friars Conventual acknowledge the gravity of the charges and facts disclosed, and condone neither. We detest any actions that would hurt God's children," she said.

"It is important for the public to know that the Archdiocese is committed to keeping children safe through efforts like the 'Safe Environment Program,' which requires background checks for all personnel who have regular contact with children and young people and includes Virtus training on sexual awareness for all such personnel, and seminars.