Superior Fire Chief charged with child sex abuse

SUPERIOR – Superior resident and chief of the Superior Volunteer Fire Department Richard Miller made his initial appearance in court today at the Mineral County Courthouse on charges of sexual abuse of children and multiple counts of tampering with evidence.

Miller surrendered voluntarily this afternoon and was booked and processed before being released on his own recognizance. Miller was ordered by Judge Dale Magone not to leave the state without permission from the court and was also directed not to have any contact with anyone under the age of 18 without supervision.

According to an affidavit from the Justice Court of Mineral County, the arrest stems from an investigation that began June 29, 2015 after the Missoula Police Department/Internet Crimes Against Children Detective Chris Shermer received multiple tips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding child pornography.

Detective Shermer was provided with over 20 tips, each containing an image or video of what appeared to be underage women in a variety of simulated and non-simulated sexual acts. Shermer was also provided with an internet provider (IP) address that was consistent with all of the uploads of the images and videos.  The IP address was confirmed by NCMEC to be listed with Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative out of Missoula.

Further investigation and confirmation from Blackfoot indicated the account belonged to Miller Trucking of Superior, Montana. Shermer discovered the trucking company was listed under the address of a Sally and Richard Miller of Superior.

On July 7, 2015, Detective Shermer obtained search warrants for the Superior Fire Station, the Miller Trucking Shop and the Miller residence. Later that day, Miller was asked to come to the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and obliged.

Miller was placed in an interview room where Shermer and another detective made contact with him and read him his Miranda Rights. Miller was informed the case involved uploaded images of child pornography. When asked, he denied any knowledge of any images of children.

Upon further questioning, Miller indicated there were several computers he used on a regular basis and several of these were seized from multiple locations in and around Superior. According to the affidavit, it was discovered at this point in the investigation Miller had attempted to destroy parts of several computers.

On July 9, Shermer received nine more tips related to the same IP address. Miller’s next scheduled court hearing is July 22.