A disgraced pastor from South Carolina is facing years in federal prison for allegedly waging a campaign of terror against his wife in the weeks before she was found dead.
Federal Indictment Details Harassment Campaign
John-Paul Miller, 46, was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday on charges of federal cyberstalking and making false statements to investigators. The indictment, unsealed by the South Carolina US Attorney's Office, alleges a shocking pattern of harassment against his 30-year-old wife, Mica Miller, leading up to her death.
Mica Miller was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Lumbee River State Park, North Carolina, on April 27, 2024. Her death came just days after she had filed for divorce from her husband. While the coroner ruled her death a suicide, and Miller is not charged in connection with it, prosecutors allege his actions created a living hell for his estranged wife.
The federal indictment claims Miller's "reign of terror" began on November 16, 2022, and continued until Mica's death. It states his harassment was intended to "kill, injure, harass, or intimidate" Mica and to place her in "reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury."
Allegations of Tracking, Defamation, and Interference
The litany of alleged abuses is extensive. Prosecutors claim Miller sent unwanted and harassing communications, posted a nude photo of Mica online without her consent, and caused tracking devices to be placed on her vehicle. On one single day, he is accused of contacting her over 50 times.
Further allegations include interfering with her finances and daily activities. On one occasion, he is accused of damaging her vehicle's tyres. Miller allegedly purchased a tyre deflation device online and sent messages to others about Mica's vehicle, despite later lying to federal agents by denying he damaged her tyres.
The indictment also details an incident on March 11, 2024, when Miller allegedly approached Mica at a gas station. A police report states she told him to go away and when she pulled out her phone to record him, he sped off. She later received a call from a blocked number and her mechanic discovered a tracking device hidden on her car. "The victim advised me she was afraid for her life," the responding officer wrote.
False Statements and Wider Legal Battles
The second federal charge accuses Miller of lying to investigators on three separate occasions. He falsely claimed he hired a private investigator to protect Mica from buying guns, when prosecutors allege he actually hired the investigator to cyberstalk her over suspected adultery.
He also falsely stated that Mica called him more than he called her, despite allegedly bombarding her with 50 calls in one day. Furthermore, he claimed police never told him to stop contacting Mica, contradicting the alleged warning given by a Horry County officer after the gas station incident.
Miller faces up to five years in prison for cyberstalking and two years for making false statements, plus a fine of up to $250,000. He has been issued a summons to appear in court.
This federal case is not Miller's only legal trouble. He is also fighting civil lawsuits, including one from July that accuses him of raping a 15-year-old girl in 1998. A second woman has also sued him and his father for alleged sexual abuse starting when she was 14. Miller has strongly denied these allegations and filed a counter-suit for defamation.
In the wake of Mica's death and the FBI raid on his Myrtle Beach home in November 2023, Miller's church, Solid Rock Ministries, shut down. Its building was later sold for $2.1 million. Miller, who married another woman, Suzie Skinner, in June 2024, and his lawyer have not yet commented on the federal indictment.
