Photo: Myrtle Beach Police Department/Mica Miller's Facebook
Pastor John Paul Miller, whose wife Mica's mysterious death made national headlines last year, is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl and using his church as a "sexual playground," according to a new lawsuit filed in Horry County Circuit Court in South Carolina on Tuesday (February 25), the New York Post reports.
Miller, 44, is accused of attacking the girl, identified in the lawsuit as 'Jane Doe,' in 1998 when she attended Sunday school at his father's church. Miller, who was 19 at the time, allegedly took the then-15-year-old girl, who was a virgin at the time, into his father's office at the All Nations Church before forcing her outside to his truck where the alleged sexual assault incident took place, according to the court documents.
Doe also claimed that Miller assaulted her again when they ran into each other in 2023, when he leaned in to give her a hug and suddenly shoved "his hand down her pants touching her genitals without consent." The accuser claimed that Miller cited the Bible verse, "No man is without sin and temptation" to justify his alleged actions.
The suit also named All Nations Church and Miller's current church, Solid Rock Church, as defendants as leaders covered up a pattern of his alleged abuse for years.
“This church was JPM’s sexual playground,” the lawsuit stated.
Mica Miller, 30, who was ruled by police to have died by suicide, shared a video addressing "abuse" on her Facebook account prior to her death. Divorce documents obtained by NewsNation on May 13 showed that Mica accused John-Paul of abusing her "emotionally, sexually, spiritually, financially, and physically."
"He has harassed me physically and electronically with letters, phone calls, emails, and texts, hacking my emails, hacking my personal Facebook, and impersonating me. Using my stolen phone to send texts and emails out to church members pretending to be me, texting friends and family saying that I am sleeping with teenagers from our church, and showing up in person at places around town … To having installed 3 different tracking devices on my vehicle," Mica wrote.
John-Paul Miller was also been accused by critics and internet sleuths of grooming his wife as she had joined his church at the age of 14 when he was already working as a pastor. Robeson County Medical Examiner Richard Johnson told ABC 15 that Mica was ruled to have died by suicide on May 6.
“Based on the nature of the wound, that it is consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. And it was not in the back of the head, as it has been speculated,” Johnson said.
Robeson County dispatch said it received a 911 call from a woman who allegedly threatened suicide and wanted to know if her phone could be located by her family on the day of Miller's death, FOX Carolina reported on May 7. The woman reportedly hung up and the dispatcher was unable to contact her, but pinpointed the location of the call to the area of Lumber River State Park in North Carolina.
A black Honda Accord confirmed to belong to Miller was found by State Park Rangers in a parking lot. A Sig Sauer gun case was located in the passenger seat, a box of ammunition in the center console and a receipt for the gun dated on the same day as Miller's death.
Authorities then received another 911 call from an individual who said a body and Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, which had a serial number matching the gun box found in the Accord, were located in the water at the park. Miller's phone and belongings were also reported to be found at the scene.
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.