Youth center chief location of child molestation

Major Phoenix official arrested
Youth center chief accused of molesting child
Andrew Edwards and Robert Rogers, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 07/03/2008 09:45:08 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO - A key Operation Phoenix official who supervised recreational activities for city youth was arrested Thursday on suspicion of child molestation.

Michael Steven Miller, 48, of Highland has been an Operation Phoenix youth center manager since July 2006. He started his career in the city Parks and Recreation Department in 1999.

"It's a tragic, tragic event," Mayor Pat Morris said in a telephone interview.

San Bernardino police began to investigate Miller on Tuesday when officers received a report he had been involved in an alleged child molestation.

Miller was arrested at 1:20 p.m. Thursday at a Redlands restaurant, police said. He was placed on unpaid leave Thursday morning, Jim Morris, the mayor's son and chief of staff, confirmed.

Police had not released the age or gender of the alleged victim as of late Thursday. The investigation was said to be ongoing.

Several police officers converged on the Phoenix center in the 1600 block of Sierra Way on Wednesday night.

About noon Thursday, more than a dozen small children and two or three teens played pool and video games while supervisors looked on.

Miller's office was closed and locked. Staff on duty declined to comment, referring questions to the Police Department.

Operation Phoenix and city parks facilities are not the only venues where Miller has interacted with local children. He also was a local Little League umpire for years.
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"At this point, I can't have any comment on it," said District 43 administrator Randy Robbins. "He was an umpire for District 43."

The Morris administration's Operation Phoenix program includes anti-crime strategies that range from police patrols to a trio of community centers, the latest of which opened Monday.

Morris said it would be "politics in the extreme" for other officials to use Miller's arrest as an incitement to wrangle over the fate of Operation Phoenix.

The mayor maintained that the allegations against Miller do not show that Operation Phoenix centers are dysfunctional.

"This is not some kind of a contagion. This is not some kind of cancer," Morris said.

But 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said the centers should be closed pending a review to determine if there are adequate safeguards to prevent crimes against children.

"If the politicians of this city are not willing to do everything that is necessary to protect our children, then that is `politics in the extreme,"' McCammack said.

Fourth Ward Councilman Neil Derry, who has questioned whether Operation Phoenix will solve crime problems, said he's not ready to close the centers.

Third Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker said he wants the centers to stay open.

"It's a much bigger project than one individual," he said. "I can't see putting the brakes on this."

But McCammack said officials need to take a close look at the centers to find an answer to this question: "What didn't we do to prevent this type of alleged activity?"

City Attorney James F. Penman declined to say whether he wants the centers closed. He did say he is concerned about on-site safety and supervision.

David Rhone, pastor at First Church of the Nazarene, which rents a facility to the city for the center Miller heads up, said he was shocked by the allegations.

"Our position is that we are very sorry to hear about this and have great sympathy for the alleged victim and the family, and we hope the allegations are not true," Rhone said. "Obviously, we're very saddened."

Rhone, a long-time Morris supporter, stressed that parents should not worry about the safety of their children at the center.

"I don't think this is a pervasive problem at all," Rhone said. "I have full confidence in the Operation Phoenix staff."

But Rhone and others said they were concerned Miller's arrest could fuel criticism of Operation Phoenix as a whole.

"I expect that this will be used as a wedge to advance the agendas of others," Rhone said.

Police were tight-lipped about the case most of Thursday.

At 1 p.m., about 20 minutes before Miller's arrest, Lt. Scott Paterson, a police spokesman, said, "We're looking into some issues of concern, and that's all we have right now, period."

Less than an hour later, Jim Morris told reporters Miller had been arrested.

At 3:33 p.m., Paterson sent reporters a news release confirming Miller's arrest.

Police ask anyone with information on the case to call (909) 384-5717.