Canadian pastor charged with sex crime against a minor following ICE HSI investigation

DETROIT - A former pastor from Deseronto, Ontario, Canada appeared in federal court Feb. 25 to face charges of traveling in foreign commerce to have sex with a minor, announced Acting Special Agent in Charge James Harris, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Dawn Ison, United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Michigan.

Charged was Timothy Raymond Milley, 68, who was a Minister at the Cataraqui Church in Deseronto, Ontario, Canada.

According to court records, Milley met a 15 year-old girl on the internet and began communicating with her frequently using a popular messaging application. Milley requested that the child create and send him nude images of herself. Milley, who used the alias “Red Rider,” spoke frequently to the victim about sex. On June 20, 2013, Milley traveled from his Ontario home to a town in the Eastern District of Michigan. Milley picked the victim up in front of her high school, then took her to a local Best Western motel. Milley then had the child perform sex acts on him at the hotel room. Milley returned to Canada the next day. Thereafter, Milley stopped communicating with the victim. In early 2020, the victim learned that Milley had been arrested for luring a child in Canada. The victim contacted law enforcement, leading to her further disclosures. Milley was extradited from Canada this week.

“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. “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 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 Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent. The burden is on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Learn more about HSI’s child exploitation mission @HSIDetroit.