Ex-ROTC instructor from Chesco admits to sex with student at North Penn High School

NORRISTOWN » A former North Penn High School ROTC instructor from Chester County has admitted to having sexual contact with a female student.

Mark Alan Miller, 46, of the first block of Brittany Lane, Glenmoore, Chester County, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of institutional sexual assault, sexual contact with student, in connection with incidents that occurred between November and December 2016. The open plea means Miller, who was known to students as “Major Miller,” has no deals with prosecutors regarding his potential punishment.

Judge Joseph P. Walsh deferred sentencing so that the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board can evaluate Miller to determine if he should be classified as a sexually violent predator. Those classified as predators face more stringent restrictions under state law, including community notification about their housing arrangements.

Miller faces a possible maximum sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison on the charge. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for less jail time.

Miller remains free on bail pending his sentencing hearing.

An investigation began on Dec. 15, 2016, when North Penn High School administrators contacted Towamencin police to report they received information from school students that Miller, the Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) senior coordinator, had been involved in sexual relations with a student who was a member of the school’s ROTC unit, according to the criminal complaint.

During the investigation, detectives spoke to the 18-year-old female student, who said she had consensual sexual intercourse with Miller in the back of his Toyota Prius while they were returning from an ROTCrelated event in the Valley Forge area on Nov. 12, 2016, according to a criminal complaint filed by Towamencin Detective Michael Paul.

The victim told detectives she had sexual intercourse with Miller on two other occasions between November and December. The three sexual encounters occurred while the two were in the Lansdale Business Park or at a hotel on Sumneytown Pike in Towamencin, according court documents.

Detectives obtained surveillance footage and business records from the Towamencin hotel where the victim said that she and Miller engaged in sexual intercourse on one of the occasions, and evidence showed that Miller had checked into a room on that date and both he and the victim were observed on hotel cameras, according to the arrest affidavit.

Court documents indicate that during the investigation another female student told detectives that Miller had pursued her since the beginning of the school year in 2016. Miller allegedly told that student that he was getting a divorce and that he wanted to have a relationship with her and spoke of having children together.

However, the second student told investigators that she never had sexual relations with Miller and ended their “close relationship” to avoid future issues. The girl told detectives she later found out in mid-December that Miller had “started a sexual relationship with the victim,” according to the criminal complaint.

“Each statement gathered during this investigation provided a consistent fact pattern that Major Mark Miller had been apparently engaging in sexually explicit behaviors while employed as a teacher,” Paul wrote in the arrest affidavit. “Mark Miller, being an employee of a school district who has direct contact with students, engaged in sexual intercourse and indecent contact with a student, the victim.”

Court documents indicate Miller is retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of major certified as a ROTC teacher.

At the time of Miller’s arrest in January, North Penn School District spokeswoman Christine Liberaski said that Miller, who was hired in 2013 as a military science instructor for the Air Force JROTC Program at the high school, submitted his letter of resignation on Dec. 15, the same day high school officials contacted police about the matter.

“Charges such as these against Miller are contrary to the core values that educators hold true and will never be tolerated in the North Penn School District,” school officials said in a statement at the time. “As always, North Penn High School has the staff and resources in place for students who may need extra support during this time. Student safety is a top priority of the North Penn School District. Students are commended for reporting and acting upon this serious issue.”