Robert Miller too sick to defend himself against sex charges, his lawyers say

MONTREAL — Lawyers defending Quebec billionaire businessman Robert Miller against sex crime charges have filed an application for a stay of proceedings, saying he is too sick to appear in court. The founder of Future Electronics was arrested last week on 21 sex charges involving 10 complainants, many of whom were minors when the alleged offences occurred between 1994 and 2016. The application says the 80-year-old Miller was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1996 and is now in the most advanced stage of the disease, which it says has left him “extremely frail” and requiring constant care. The lawyers argue that participating in the criminal trial would violate Miller’s Charter rights because he will never be able to defend himself and appearing in court would cause significant harm to his health. The offences include sexual assault, sexual interference and enticing a person to commit prostitution. Miller, who has denied the allegations, was arrested at his home in Westmount by Montreal police and is scheduled to appear in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal on July 3. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2024. The Canadian Press