Criminal case against Robert Miller should be thrown out because he's too sick, lawyers argue
CTV
The criminal case against Robert Miller should be thrown out because he is too ill to have a fair trial, the Montreal billionaire's lawyers say.
The criminal case against Robert Miller should be thrown out because he is too ill to have a fair trial, the Montreal billionaire's lawyers say.
Miller was charged last Thursday with 21 counts, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and enticing a person to commit prostitution in relation to 10 complainants, many of whom were minors. The offences allegedly took place between 1994 and 2016.
However, Miller's legal team filed a motion in Superior Court arguing that the 80-year-old accused suffers from "a very advanced degenerative Parkinson's disease" and is "in an extremely frail condition, bedridden and under 24/7 care."
Lawyers Isabella Teolis and Nicholas St-Jacques are asking for a stay of proceedings, arguing in the motion filed on Tuesday that the criminal case would violate two of his Charter rights, including a right to a fair trial under section 11d of the Charter.
Participating in the criminal trial would "cause significant harm to his health," they claim. "He is and will never be able to defend himself."
Montreal police arrested the former Future Electronics CEO at his home in Westmount and released him on a promise to appear in court on July 3.
On Tuesday, one of his alleged accomplices, 67-year-old Teresita Fuentes, was also arrested and charged with a pimping charge and is set to appear in court also on July 3. Fuentes and Miller both live at the same address, according to court records.
