Jeff Miller expected to resign from City-County Council amid child molestation charges

Jeff Miller on Friday told Marion County Republican leaders he will step down from the City-County Council after prosecutors charged him with three counts of child molestation.

Miller faces three level 4 felony counts of child molestation, according to court records in which he is quoted as acknowledging there might be truth to the allegations.

Each charge would carry a sentence of two to 12 years in prison if Miller is convicted. He was arrested Friday afternoon.

Miller is accused of fondling two young girls at his Fletcher Place house, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Friday in Marion Superior Court. The 50-year-old Republican council member did not respond to requests for comment.

The charges against Miller come as celebrities and politicians across the country are facing allegations of sexual misconduct. The widely spread allegations about prominent film executive and producer Harvey Weinstein played a role in one complaint against Miller.

One girl saw the Weinstein story on television and decided to tell her father about massages she had received from Miller, according to court records. The 10-year-old told her father the touching was inappropriate.

Miller on Oct. 21 gave a statement to IMPD in which he described how he would play with and give massages to the girls. He expressed surprise that his touching had been perceived as sexual, but he did not dispute the girls' accounts.

"That's how she felt," Miller told police, referring to one girl. "I'm, I'm fine with that. Not fine with the situation. I'm saying that's how she felt. Period. I mean, yeah, nothing more to say other than that. (I) feel like an idiot. Desperately sorry, and that's her right. And that can't be taken away."

Miller's attorney, Jennifer Lukemeyer, declined comment.

The girl also told investigators on Oct. 20 that Miller gave her massages and would "accidentally" touch her skin under her shirt and "where the legs meet the groin," according to the document.

According to court records, she said Miller patted her on the butt "like you would pat your kid if you were proud of them."

Another 10-year-old girl, according to the document, told police that Miller grabbed her butt while he gave her a piggy-back ride.

Miller did not deny touching the girls in an interview with detectives.

"I defer to them," Miller told investigators on Oct. 21, according to the document. "If I've done something they're uncomfortable with ... perception is reality."

Miller told police he keeps a basket of massage tools and that he had used some of them on the girls. He denied having any sexual thoughts or feelings during these massage sessions.

"I try to operate in that, the old swimsuit rule," Miller said, according to the document. "Don't touch anybody where the swimsuit covers."

Miller told police he would give girls piggy-back rides in a game he called "Ride the Wild Jeff Beast," but he denied intentionally touching anyone in an inappropriate manner.

Marion County Republican Chairman Jim Merritt on Friday said Miller pledged during a phone call to resign from the council. Merritt and Michael McQuillen, the Republican minority leader on the council, called for Miller's resignation as details of the allegations emerged.

"I called him up and told him we're going to call for his resignation and it has to be on Monday," Merritt said. "He told me he was going to."

If Miller submits a letter of resignation, county Republicans can call for precinct committee members to elect a new member to the council within 30 days. The City-County Council has no mechanism in place to remove one of its members unless someone moves to a new location or is convicted of a felony.

"This is sickening," Merritt said. "I am really angry about this. I feel so sorry for those victims."

Miller, who has a 10-year-old son, was first elected to the council in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015. He represents a Downtown district that includes Fountain Square, Mars Hill, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the White River State Park.

Miller is known for being an accessible and outspoken member of the council. He has frequently crossed party lines to support initiatives favored by Democrats, including the recent plan to build a bus-rapid-transit system in Indianapolis.

Miller had continued to attend council functions this week, including a Public Works Committee meeting Thursday.

City officials early Friday responded to questions about Miller by deferring to the legal process. But, as charges were filed and more details became public, Republican leaders quickly called on Miller to step down.

Detective Gregory J. Norris wrote in a court document that he asked Miller whom a jury would believe, him or the girls.

"If it goes forward, I guess I have to see how long I'd be in jail," Miller said, according to court records. "But I probably would just take whatever because ... I'm not gonna make them have to come and defend it, you know?"

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @vicryc.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.