Former Manual High journalism teacher sentenced in child pornography case
A former Manual High School journalism teacher who previously pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography was sentenced Tuesday morning in Jefferson Circuit Court.
James H. Miller, who entered a guilty plea late last year after being charged the in the spring, was sentenced to three years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Julie Kaelin. He will also be required to register on the sex offender registry and complete a court-ordered sex offender treatment program.
The former teacher was charged with two counts of possessing matter portraying a sex performance by a minor under 16 years of age on May 25 last year, according to court documents filed at the time. In late November, Miller pleaded guilty to the charges and took a plea agreement from the Commonwealth Attorney's Office.
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In the plea deal to two counts of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, Miller admitted to having filmed a then-10-year-old child while they were undressing. The videos were recorded between May and June 2021 while Miller and the child's mother, who he was dating, were staying at a Louisville hotel. The videos were found on Miller's phone in December that year, according to previous court filings.
Attorneys with Cox & Mazzoli PLLC who represented Miller had requested a punishment of five years probation in a filing ahead of Tuesday's sentencing.
The attorneys argued Miller "has committed himself to a demanding plan of counseling and rehabilitation" for sex and alcohol addictions and had suffered from severe depression. Miller was one year sober from alcohol at the time of the sentencing and sees a psychiatrist to battle depression, and the defense argued ongoing supervision while on probation would ensure he could "continue his rehabilitation and contribute to society through gainful employment" while precluding "any impression that he has escaped punishment for his crimes."
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Miller, who had served as the department chair of Manual's Journalism & Communication since 2006, formally resigned from the Jefferson County Public Schools system in March, though he had not been in a classroom since January. Commonwealth's Attorney Office spokesperson Erwin Roberts has said no public school children were involved in the case.
Miller had previously employed at Shawnee High School before he joined JCPS in 2003 as well as working as a freelance journalist.
This story may be updated.
Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Former Manual teacher James Miller sentenced in child pornography case
