logo
‘Jane Doe' sues John-Paul Miller and his father, says ministry fostered ‘sexual abuse and predatory conduct' for decades

‘Jane Doe' sues John-Paul Miller and his father, says ministry fostered ‘sexual abuse and predatory conduct' for decades

Yahoo26-02-2025

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A woman is suing John-Paul Miller and his father, accusing both in Horry County Circuit Court of 'sexual abuse and predatory conduct' that often targeted minors over decades.
The 43-page complaint alleges that John-Paul touched her genitals without her consent as recently as 2023 and that the assault 'triggered repressed memories' of a previous assault by him that allegedly occurred nearly 20 years earlier when she was 15 years old and he was 19.
It doesn't mention whether the woman has provided information to any law enforcement officials concerning her allegations.
JP-Miller-lawsuitDownload
The lawsuit names the Millers, All Nations Cathedral Church, formerly Cathedral Baptist Church of the Grand Strand and Solid Rock Ministries. Sister station News13 has reached out to her Rock Hill-based attorney Randall Hood for comment.
'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,' the complaint says.
Timeline: The saga of John-Paul and Mica Miller
The woman now lives in Indiana as an adult, and the lawsuit says she is being identified as 'Jane Doe' to avoid the risk of 'humiliation and embarrassment.'
In 2023, the woman at the lawsuit's center encountered John-Paul in person during a trip to Myrtle Beach with a friend. That's when he leaned in to hug her 'and shoved his hand down her pants touching her genitals without consent,' according to the complaint.
A short time later, the woman and Miller got into a heated argument over use of his title as 'pastor' and citing scripture to justify the assault.
'In response, JPM cited scripture, telling Plaintiff: 'No man is without sin and temptation. God understands that.''
The woman's lawsuit also raises questions about financial dealings of the ministries and their leaders.
John-Paul Miller has repeatedly refused to speak with News13, which also reached out to him Tuesday for this story. Attorney Russell Long, who has represented Miller in other legal matters, declined comment when contacted by News13 on Tuesday.
News13 also contacted Reginald Miller on Tuesday, who in a text referred a reporter to Long.
John-Paul Miller has been embroiled in controversy since his wife Mica's death last April, while he was pastor at Solid Rock Church in The Market Common. Mica's death at the Lumber River State Park near Lumberton in Robeson County was ruled a suicide, but her family and numerous protestors within the 'Justice for Mica' movement have pushed forward with claims that he abused his wife.
Court records depict bitter end of friendship between family, embattled Myrtle Beach pastor
John-Paul was jailed on an assault charge in November after an incident near the Solid Rock Church, which has since been closed and sold. Prior to that, the FBI searched his home in the Azalea Lakes neighborhood near Myrtle Beach.
He also has sued a former paralegal, accusing her of libel and slander on social media, and multiple protesters, though court records show that some of those cases were dismissed.
Jane Doe's lawsuit claims the Millers' churches 'operated without adequate protections for minors' and created 'an environment where abuse could thrive.'
'It was part of a calculated plan to groom victims while simultaneously gaining the community's trust and financial support,' the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Millers failed to put in place policies to protect minors from abuse by adult church members.
'Despite the inherent risks associated with minors in a church, youth programs and church-based mentorship, Defendants failed to implement common-sense safeguards, such as prohibiting one-on-one unsupervised interactions between adults and minors, requiring background checks for all staff and volunteers, and establishing mandatory reporting protocols for suspected abuse,' the lawsuit claims.
The Millers' ministry dates back to the early 1970s, when Reginald Miller founded the Florence Tabernacle Church, the lawsuit said. The ministry eventually grew into the Gloryland Bible College and later Cathedral Bible College.
The ministry was relocated to Myrtle Beach in 1993 following allegations of sexual misconduct involving Reginald Miller and students of the college, the lawsuit said. That was followed by the creation of Cathedral Baptist Church.
'Over time, in an effort to further distance himself from prior controversies and to maintain operational continuity under a new identity, Cathedral changed names and identities to 'All Nations Church' while remaining under the same centralized control of RWM and his innercircle,' the lawsuit says.
Then, in 2013, the operations of All Nations Church were transferred to John-Paul Miller's newly created Solid Rock Ministries, the lawsuit said.
The Millers acted as 'alter egos' of all the ministries — 'effectively consolidating them into a single, unified entity that is indistinguishable from one another,' according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also contains past court filings from John-Paul Miller's former wife, Alison, and Reginald Miller's ex-wife, Susan, to support past claims of emotional, physical and 'inappropriate sexual behavior with minors' involving Reginald and John-Paul.
911 calls released after Matthews woman allegedly locked her boyfriend inside a Monroe storage unit for days
Both women detailed those accounts as they sought sole custody of their children — Alison in May 2024 and Susan in June 2001.
'J.P. told me that in addition to his affair with Mica, he had employed prostitutes, and been sexually inappropriate with several underage female members of our church,' Williams said in her affidavit. 'He blamed his immoral sexual behaviors on the sexual abuse he experienced for years by his father, [Reginald] Wayne Miller.'
Williams said Solid Rock leaders asked John-Paul to enroll in an 'extensive sexual education program,' but he opted not to do so.
The woman is seeking unspecified final damages on grounds of negligence, civil conspiracy, assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress and violating the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Navy vet's daughter remains in ICE detention despite US citizenship claims
Navy vet's daughter remains in ICE detention despite US citizenship claims

Yahoo

time32 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Navy vet's daughter remains in ICE detention despite US citizenship claims

[Source] A Filipino woman has been detained at a Georgia immigration facility since March after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested her during a routine check-in, despite her family's assertion that she is a U.S. citizen. Catch up Alma Bowman, 58, was arrested by ICE on March 26 during a scheduled appointment at the Atlanta Field Office, where she reportedly came in a wheelchair accompanied by her children and legal representatives. ICE then moved her that day to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, run by private contractor CoreCivic, and began deportation proceedings to the Philippines. Bowman's father, Lawrence Bowman, served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. She was born there in 1966 before her family relocated to the U.S. when she was 10. She has resided in Macon, Georgia, for almost five decades. Federal authorities reportedly revoked her permanent residency after a criminal conviction two decades ago for check fraud involving $1,200, which she repaid. Trending on NextShark: What her family is saying Bowman was previously detained by ICE for nearly three years from 2017 to 2020 — during the first Trump administration — and testified about unauthorized medical procedures at the now-shuttered Irwin County Detention Center. Now, her sons John and Chris describe severe family trauma. 'There have been a couple of times I come in her room, and it feels like I can't breathe,' John told Atlanta News First. She instructed them to sell her action figure collection if deported. 'I couldn't do it,' Chris added. 'It would feel like giving up on her.' Trending on NextShark: U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) calls the detention illegal. 'She's an American citizen,' he said. 'The fact that one of her parents was an American means that she is an American.' Meanwhile, family attorney Samantha Hamilton of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice argues ICE violated Policy 16001.2, which prohibits detaining potential U.S. citizens. This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. ! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!

Argentine President Milei Cleared of Misconduct Over LIBRA Promotion: Report
Argentine President Milei Cleared of Misconduct Over LIBRA Promotion: Report

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Argentine President Milei Cleared of Misconduct Over LIBRA Promotion: Report

Argentine President Javier Milei was cleared of wrongdoing over his promotion of the LIBRA memecoin in February, the Buenos Aires Herald reported on Saturday. A resolution issued Friday by the country's anti-corruption office argued that the president was speaking "as an economist and not a public official," when he shared news of LIBRA on X. The president's personal account "was created long before he was elected country president, and even before the beginning of his previous term as deputy," according to the resolution, signed by Alejandro Melik, the head of the country's anti-corruption office. Milei's post about the Solana-based memecoin promoted it as a project designed to help small and medium-sized Argentine companies raise capital. LIBRA surged to a market capitalization of around $4.5 billion. He deleted the post only hours later, saying that he had not been aware of the details of the project when he promoted it. In the ensuing sell-off, LIBRA crashed by 90%, wiping out over $4 billion in value. On-chain data from Nansen showed that 86% of traders lost a total of $251 million, with the remainder securing $180 million in profits. To make matters worse, it was revealed Libra's co-creator Hayden Davis bragged in text messages about his influence over Milei because of payments he had been making to Karina Milei, the president's sister and a powerful figure in his government.

Exclusive-UnitedHealth eyes $1 billion deal to exit Latin America as insurer refocuses on US, sources say
Exclusive-UnitedHealth eyes $1 billion deal to exit Latin America as insurer refocuses on US, sources say

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Exclusive-UnitedHealth eyes $1 billion deal to exit Latin America as insurer refocuses on US, sources say

By Tatiana Bautzer and Sabrina Valle NEW YORK (Reuters) -UnitedHealth Group is weighing multiple bids for its Latin American operations, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, as the insurer buckles down after a series of unprecedented missteps that include the ouster of its CEO and a reported criminal accounting probe. The largest U.S. health insurer has been trying to exit Latin America since 2022, but the sale of Banmedica has taken on increasing urgency in recent months as the insurer took hits on multiple fronts, according to one of the people. New CEO Steve Hemsley told shareholders last week that he was determined to earn back their trust after an earnings miss and a Wall Street Journal report that the company was under criminal investigation for alleged Medicare fraud. UnitedHealth has said it was not notified by the Department of Justice and that it stands by the integrity of its operations. Hemsley replaced Andrew Witty as CEO, who had been in the post for only a matter of months following the murder of his predecessor, Brian Thompson, in New York in December while on his way to a meeting with investors. The company has four non-binding bids for its Banmedica subsidiary, which operates in Colombia and Chile, for about $1 billion, according to both people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. UnitedHealth's shares tumbled 25.5% in May alone and year-to-date are down 40%. UnitedHealth left Brazil in 2023 and Peru in March. It's aiming to get around $1 billion for Banmedica's operations in Colombia and Chile, the people said. The two people said the company expects to set a deadline for binding proposals as soon as July. UnitedHealth received bids from Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm Acon Investments; Sao Paulo-based private equity firm Patria Investments; Texas non-profit health firm Christus Health; and Lima-based healthcare and insurance provider Auna, the people said. Auna is in talks with a financial partner, one of the sources added. Banmedica's annual earnings before income taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, is more than $200 million a year. Patria and Christus Health declined to comment. UnitedHealth, Acon and Auna did not respond to requests for comment. FAILED EXPANSION PLANS UnitedHealth bought Banmedica in 2018, with CEO David Scott saying he was "establishing a foundation for growth in South America for the next decades." At the time, UnitedHealth paid around 12 times Banmedica's EBITDA, according to one of the people. Three years later, the insurer decided to leave Latin America as it grappled with losses in its largest operation in the region, Brazil's Amil, which had been acquired a decade earlier. It divested from its Brazilian operations in late 2023. Banmedica is currently profitable, but is considered too small by UnitedHealth. It serves over 2.1 million consumers through its health insurance programs and has around 4 million patient visits annually across its network of 13 hospitals and 143 medical centers. UnitedHealth booked an $8.3 billion loss last year related to the sale of its South American operations - $7.1 billion stemming from the Brazil exit and $1.2 billion from Banmedica. "These losses relate to our strategic exit of South American markets and include significant losses related to foreign currency translation effects," the company said in a February filing. Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual is advising UnitedHealth on the sale.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store