A former Roman Catholic priest who lives in Oxnard has pleaded guilty to molesting a boy 20 years ago. George Miller, 70, entered his guilty plea Tuesday to one count of a lewd act on a child under the age of 14. Prosecutors say Miller also admitted to sexually assaulting three other boys, whose cases couldn't be charged because of statute-of-limitation issues.
Miller, who has been free on bail since his arrest in July 2007, faces up to three years in prison.
Miller pleaded guilty to molesting a boy he met in the early 1980s while assigned to Guardian Angel Church in Pacoima, prosecutors said. The actual molestation occurred between March 1988 and March 1989 when Miller was serving at Santa Clara Church in Oxnard, but it occurred outside Ventura County, according to authorities.
Miller was at Santa Clara Church from 1984 to 1996 and at San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura from 1968 to 1971. Sentencing was set for Jan. 30.
He was arrested and charged with molesting three boys in the 1970s and 1980s while assigned to the Pacoima church. But the case was dropped when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a California law extending the statute of limitations on sex crimes was unconstitutional.
Authorities arrested Miller in July 2007 after the victim in the ongoing case came forward. Miller had befriended the victim's mother and was a guest at the family home, taking the boy on overnight trips, authorities said.
Miller's arrest came about a week after the Los Angeles Archdiocese reached a $660 million civil settlement of claims by more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse.
