Billionaire Montreal businessman Robert Miller was arrested at his Westmount home by investigators from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) on Thursday in connection with allegations of sexual abuse against 10 young women, some of whom were minors at the time of the alleged acts.
Targeted by an arrest warrant, the 80-year-old man is the subject of 21 criminal charges, including sexual assault, pimping, sexual exploitation, sexual contact and sexual intercourse with a minor for payment.
The events allegedly took place between 1994 and 2016.
Robert Miller was released on a promise to appear in court on July 3.
Under the Criminal Code, a person convicted of sexual assault against a person under the age of 16 can receive a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, the SPVM indicated during a press conference on Thursday. .
This is the second time that the entrepreneur, one of the richest in Canada, has been the subject of a police investigation for allegations of this type.
In 2010, after an SPVM investigation spread over two years, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) chose not to bring the case to court.
This investigation was “conducted expertly”, according to Karine Paquette, inspector in the specialized investigations department of the SPVM. “But at the time, we perhaps did not have the elements to establish guilt. »
The broadcast by Radio-Canada and its English-speaking counterpart, CBC, of a report on the Miller affair in February 2023, however, made it possible to restart the process. Six women reported having had sexual relations with Robert Miller when they were minors in exchange for large sums of money or expensive gifts. The report also reported a well-established operating system in which Mr. Miller’s relatives and employees of his company Future Electronics also participated.
“Starting in February 2023, we received several new pieces of information,” said M.me Paquette. The sexual exploitation team immediately took charge of all the information collected and a proper investigation was launched. This team did not skimp on the resources and time allocated to all the victims and witnesses to be met. »
The SPVM clarified that the investigation is not completed and invites any other alleged victims of Mr. Miller to contact them.
“This long-term investigation will continue and other developments are possible,” said Mr. Paquette, who also wanted to underline “the courage of all the victims in this long ordeal”.
Members of Mr. Miller’s entourage and employees of his company Future Electronics could also be targeted by charges.
In a press release sent early in the evening, the businessman insisted on pleading his innocence.
“The obvious motivation behind this whole affair, which dates back as much as 30 years, is easy financial gain at his expense,” one wrote.
The release states that Miller’s health is “extremely fragile” and that he suffers from a very advanced stage of Parkinson’s disease. He would be bedridden and cared for 24/7.
Founder of Future Electronics, Robert Miller resigned as president and CEO in February 2023 after filing a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit.
He sold the company for more than $5 billion to a Taiwanese semiconductor distributor.
Future Electronics, which was wholly owned by Mr. Miller, is a global distributor of electronic components that employs 5,200 workers in 47 countries.
Co-founded by Mr. Miller in 1968, the Montreal company claims to have generated $2.9 billion in revenue and $184 million in profits in the first half of 2023.