Inconclusive end to Robert Miller's sex crimes trial denies plaintiffs closure

CBC

2 days ago

Social Sharing
For the alleged victims of billionaire Robert Miller, the feeling of betrayal began to sink in Monday when the Crown and Miller's defence team both agreed the 81-year-old was too sick to stand trial.
The final blow came on Tuesday, when Quebec Superior Court Justice Lyne Décarie ordered a stay of proceedings, effectively ending the criminal trial.
Miller no longer faces the 24 charges against him related to sex crimes spanning over two decades against 11 women, most of whom were underage at the time of the alleged events.
"The decision to shield him from justice is not only an injustice to each of us, it's an insult to our suffering and a betrayal by a system that is supposed to protect us," one of the women who participated in the police investigation told Radio-Canada Monday.
Another woman who accused Miller in Radio-Canada's Enquête investigation, which brought the allegations to light in 2023, said she worries the proceedings were all for nothing.
"It was more than brave, not far from crazy, actually, to say, 'listen, we're going to make ourselves heard. We're going to speak out and be believed, without feeling threatened,'" she said. "The last two years have been really difficult."
Miller wasn't acquitted and the charges against him weren't dropped. He has denied all allegations against him.
Under different circumstances, the Crown could file the charges again or appeal the stay of proceedings, but that won't happen in this case, with Crown attorney Delphine Mauger saying Miller "will not get better" and calling a trial "simply impossible."
Miller, who has late-stage Parkinson's disease, is bedridden, incontinent and needs medication and oxygen periodically, would not have been able to fully engage in the trial, let alone attend court daily, chief prosecutor Dominique Potvin had explained.
When asked why Miller couldn't participate via videoconference, Mauger said they explored every possible avenue and arrived at the same conclusion, adding that an accused has a right to be present at their trial in a significant way.
No conviction doesn't mean no crime, counsellor says
Décarie's ruling in Miller's case was "cold and rational" and was best for the court based on its ability to administer justice, said UQAM political science and law professor Rachel Chagnon.
"The chance for the victim to see that man being punished, going to jail and going through a sentence were almost [non-existent]," she said.
"It was just not possible to expect a true justice in the full sense of the word."
But the way the judicial system works in cases like this are completely at odds with what victims need, added Chagnon.
WATCH | Judge rules Robert Miller too sick to stand trial:
Montreal billionaire accused of sex crimes too sick to stand trial, judge rules
1 day ago
Duration 1:31
Psychosocial counsellor Sarah Amina Nday-Yenga, who works with victims of sexual assault at the West Island CALACS, says that part of the process of supporting victims through the judicial system is preparing them for disappointment. But, regardless of how prepared they may be, it's always hard when a conviction doesn't materialize.
"A lot of people tend to think that because someone was not convicted, that means that it did not happen and the victims were just lying, which is absolutely not the case," she said. "I've seen a lot of judges talk about the fact that, 'I believe the victim, it's just that I don't have enough to convict the abuser.'"
Chagnon said while the outcome of Miller's case might dissuade others from accusing their abusers, it gave the plaintiffs a chance to receive moral and social support they might not have had otherwise.
More avenues to heal are needed
Nday-Yenga says there needs to be more alternative ways for victims to get justice in these cases, with financial compensation being one of those avenues. Notably, in Robert Miller's case, there are still two ongoing civil lawsuits, including a class action involving almost five times the number of victims in the criminal trial.
Others, who might need to hear some kind of explanation for the abuse they experienced, might begin to find closure through restorative justice, a process that emphasizes accountability and healing over punishment.
"The healing process is very unique to every single individual, but to be able to have different processes, more of them, around Montreal and around Quebec in general could be helpful."
In its annual review released earlier this week, Montreal police said the number of reported sexual assaults had increased by 12.6 per cent compared to the five-year average, demonstrating, in part, growing trust between victims and the judicial system, according to them.
Nday-Yenga said though that might be true, she says more often than not, the people she works with choose not to report their abuser. She said a lot of the guilt and shame that victims feel when speaking up is due to a lack of openness from society, and while progress has been made, there's still a lot of work to do.
Chagnon agrees. She points to Miller, who was first charged in 2024 — 15 years after Montreal police first began investigating him.
The first police investigation into him was opened in 2009 and closed a year later.
"We have to admit that mistakes were made, that maybe there were people that were not taken as seriously as they should have been," she said.