Imprisoned pastor faces more prison time - refusing to testify in lesbian custody case
Impregnated Lesbian becomes a Christian - leaves lesbian partner - now lawyers imprison person who helped Christian escape from homosexual lifestyle
A pastor serving a 27-month prison
sentence for helping a young girl and her mother escape the custody of her
court-assigned lesbian “parent” has been threatened with more prison time for
refusing to testify in the prosecution of Christian businessman Philip
Zodhiates, who is also accused of aiding the escape.
After refusing to testify on Fifth Amendment grounds, Kenneth
Miller was informed by U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara that he had been
granted immunity from prosecution and therefore “you no longer have a Fifth
Amendment right not to answer,” according to Christian News.
U.S. Assistant Attorney Paul Van De Graaf then proceeded to
interrogate Kenneth Miller, asking him where he lived in September 2009, if he
had ever met ex-lesbian Lisa Miller, and if he had called Timothy Miller,
another Mennonite pastor living in Nicaragua. To each question, Kenneth Miller
(who is unrelated to Lisa Miller and Timothy Miller) responded that he would
not answer “for reasons of faith and conscience.”
After warning Kenneth Miller that he would be held in contempt
of court, Judge Arcara did just that, and Miller was led out of the courtroom
as his supporters stood, and De Graaf smirked, according to Christian News.
As a result of his refusal to testify, Kenneth Miller could be
sentenced to more prison time at a later date.
Before the date of his testimony, Miller expressed concern about
being called to testify, given the possibility of more prison time and a longer
period of isolation from his family, and asked for prayers.
“My family and I are in another period of uncertainty,” Miller
wrote. “I'm being called by the U.S. Attorney's office in Buffalo, New York, to
prepare to testify at the trial of a fellow believer also charged in the case.
Three years ago, I was found in civil contempt for not testifying and jailed
for 40 days. The prosecutor has made it clear that refusal to testify this time
could mean substantial time added to my present 27-month sentence. Please pray
for wisdom and grace as I face these decisions.”
The trial of Zodhiates concerns the escape of Lisa Miller and
her daughter, Isabella, from the power of a Vermont judge who named Miller’s
former civil union partner, Janet Jenkins, as Isabella’s “mother,” despite the
fact that she was unrelated to Isabella and had never adopted her. Isabella was
conceived by artificial insemination while Miller and Jenkins lived in a civil
union in Vermont.
Miller soon after renounced the homosexual lifestyle and
separated from Jenkins, returning to the Christian faith of her youth.
After declaring that Jenkins had a right to unsupervised visits,
Lisa Miller reported that her daughter appeared to be traumatized by visits with Jenkins and was strongly opposed to Jenkins’
influence over her, which ran counter to the Christian values she was seeking
to inculcate in Isabella.
Expert testimony was submitted in the Miller-Jenkins
custody case to prove that Isabella was traumatized by visits with Jenkins, but
was rejected by Vermont judge Richard Cohen.
Kenneth Miller was convicted in August 2012 of “aiding and abetting international
parental kidnapping” for arranging help for Lisa and her daughter in late 2009
to fly from Canada to Nicaragua, where they took shelter with the country’s
Mennonite community. He began serving his sentence earlier this year. Zodhiates has been
charged with driving Lisa and Isabella to Buffalo, New York, to enable them to
cross into Canada.
Representatives of the Mennonite community in Nicaragua say they
have also suffered for the cause of protecting Isabella from the influences of
the homosexual lifestyle, as police and government agents have both threatened
them and cajoled them with offers of benefits if they reveal the location of
Lisa and Isabella.
“According to the Bible, it is a war between good and evil, a
battle between God and Satan. As congregations, we stand united in this
spiritual warfare against evil,” they wrote in a 2012 letter.
“The fact is that suddenly we find ourselves having to choose
between obeying God and man-made laws. We have chosen to obey God. We are
willing to give up our rights, go to jail, or even die, for the cause of
helping anyone become free from a sinful life and helping that person to live
in obedience to God’s Word.”
Zodhiates' trial, which began September 21, is expected to last
at least two weeks.
Updates about Kenneth Miller’s situation can be found at a
website maintained by supporters, Millercase.org.
