A Canadian former pastor appeared in federal court Feb. 25 to face charges of traveling to the U.S. to have sex with a minor, according to a Feb. 28 release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Timothy Raymond Milley, 68, of Deseronto, Ontario, Canada, was a minister at the Cataraqui Church in Deseronto, according to the release by Acting Special Agent in Charge James Harris, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and Dawn Ison, attorney of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Court records indicate Milley communicated frequently with a 15-year-old girl on the Internet and eventually asked her to send nude images of herself. Using the alias “Red Rider,” Milley reportedly frequently spoke to the victim about sex.
The relationship is said to have escalated June 20, 2013, when Milley traveled from Ontario to a town in the Eastern District of Michigan. According to the ICE release, he picked up the victim at her high school, took her to a local Best Western motel and had her perform sex acts on him. Milley reportedly returned to Canada the next day and stopped communicating with the victim.
According to the release, the relationship went unreported until early 2020 when the victim learned Milley had been arrested for luring a child in Canada. The victim contacted law enforcement to reveal her own contact with Milley, who was recently extradited from Canada.
“I commend this victim for coming forward after these many years to disclose the abuse she suffered. Our office supports victims of sexual abuse and encourages victims to contact law enforcement, regardless of whether the abuse was recent or in the past,” Ison said in the release. “Protecting children from abuse and holding those individuals who would victimize vulnerable kids accountable is something our office is passionate about.”
This case was brought about as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice.
