A Montana man who was initially charged with more than 60 counts of abuse received a 1-year sentence after agreeing to a plea deal that dismissed all but two charges.
William Edward Miller Jr., 51, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual abuse of children, a felony, and one count of misdemeanor unsworn falsification to authorities before a local judge, according to the Great Falls Tribune. The Epoch Times will not provide details about the charges.
He was then sentenced by Cascade County District Judge Elizabeth Best to six months in the Cascade County Detention Center and a one-year deferred sentence. Miller was also ordered to complete sex offender treatment in the community.
He received credit for 384 days of time served in jail.
Best emphasized that she could only sentence Miller on the charges that were presented to her.
“I think it’s really easy and it’s easy for courts, from the bench, to use these offenses as an opportunity to grandstand and to make statements for the newspaper and TV,” she said. “They’re very, very loaded charges. They’re very difficult charges to defend against.”
Miller, meanwhile, had no felony history, officials said.
The felony charge could be wiped from his record if he completes his probation without breaking any law under the deferred sentence, KFBB reported.
A 19-year-old woman who is now Miller’s wife spoke out in court. “I ask that we be free of this charge,” the woman told Judge Best. “I feel that we have suffered enough, and I am not a victim of my husband.”
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