Embattled Pastor John-Paul Miller, whose wife Mica Miller died by suicide last April, has been accused in a lawsuit of raping a 15-year-old girl in 1998 and then assaulting that same woman in 2023.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday (Feb. 25), alleges that John-Paul Miller and his father, Reginald Wayne Miller, have portrayed themselves as “devout religious leaders” while perpetrating “sexual abuse and predatory conduct—often targeting minors.”
Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of child rape and sexual assault, which some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.
“They built their reputations in the Myrtle Beach community and beyond as men of faith, dedicated to spreading God’s word and training future church leaders,” said the suit. “But this image was a lie.” Instead the two men “used their positions of power to manipulate and exploit vulnerable victims while concealing their actions from the public.”
“As detailed in this Complaint,” the suit said, “the Defendants—both individually and together— have built, maintained, and concealed a system of sexual misconduct that harmed numerous minors, including Plaintiff Jane Doe #1.”
John-Paul Miller’s Ongoing Legal Battles
John-Paul and Mica Miller have been in the headlines since April 28, when John-Paul Miller took time at the end of Sunday service at his former church, Solid Rock at Market Common in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to tell his congregation his wife had died by suicide. Miller said that Mica, who passed away April 27, had mental health challenges and had struggled with suicide in the past.
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However, former Solid Rock congregant, Angela Clark, who was a friend of Mica’s, said Mica had filed for divorce and was attempting to get out of “an abusive marriage.” Additional troubling details emerged in the following weeks, resulting in the movement “Justice for Mica.”
Despite speculation that Miller was responsible for Mica’s death, officials have ruled that Mica did indeed die by suicide. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said its “decision was based on surveillance footage, interviews, physical evidence, and the examination of the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.”
During their investigation of Mica’s death, officials found that Miller was “allegedly romantically involved” with another woman when his wife passed away. The pastor has threatened legal action against anyone who spreads allegations that he was responsible for his wife’s death, and his attorney, Russell Long, said, “Our client refutes any report that suggests he ever abused his wife.”
