A Claremont, New Hampshire, man who once mentored kids was arraigned Tuesday on two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to a press release from the attorney general’s office.
Wayne Miller, 34, pleaded not guilty in the Windsor Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court. Superior Court Judge John Treadwell held Miller without bail pending a weight of the evidence hearing, according to the release.
According to Dec. 15 court documents, Miller engaged in “repeated nonconsensual sexual acts” with a juvenile in Hartland dating back to June 2020. Each charge carries a minimum penalty of 25 years to a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a fine of $50,000.
The Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received reports via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a person possessed suspected images of child sexual abuse material on a Google account. Miller was identified as the user of that account after the task force executed online and residential search warrants, according to the release.
Miller also has been charged federally with the production of child sexual abuse materials. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf last month after a federal grand jury returned the single-count indictment alleging Miller engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor to produce a “visual depiction” in June 2020, the Valley News reported.
The task force, in that case, found at least three photographs in an email account on Miller’s cellphone depicting sexual acts involving a young child and the lower portion of a man’s body, according to the Valley News. That charge carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and attorneys have a deadline of March 22 to file their motions.
Miller was arrested Dec. 8 and is being held at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.
Formerly of Hartland, Miller is the founder and former director of Living Proof Mentoring, a program that matches Black mentors with Black youths across the state, according to the Valley News story.
— Auditi Guha
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Miller's role at the mentor program.
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