Pastor Charged With Cyberstalking Wife Whose Death Made Headlines

Disgraced Pastor John-Paul Miller has been indicted on federal charges of cyberstalking his wife, Mica Miller, which included allegedly sharing a nude photo of her online, prior to her death by suicide in 2024, the Roberson County Sheriff's Office announced last week.

Miller, 46, was charged with cyberstalking and making false statements to federal investigators during the probe of his wife's death by a federal grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday (December 18).

"This case underscores the seriousness of domestic violence abuse and related offenses and serves as a reminder that such behavior has no place in our society," Sheriff Burnis Wilkins of Robeson County, North Carolina, said in a statement shared on his department's Facebook page.

Miller is scheduled for an arraignment in a Florence, South Carolina, federal court on January 12 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for cyberstalking and two years in prison for making false statements to investigators. The pastor and his wife, who was 30, were estranged and in the process of getting a divorce at the time of her death.

Mica Miller, 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, 2024.

“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, 2024. 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.

John-Paul Miller was also accused of raping a 15-year-old girl and using his church as a "sexual playground" in a lawsuit filed in Horry County Circuit Court in South Carolina in February. The lawsuit accused Miller 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.

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.