Robert Miller, who is said to be close to death, has been accused of sexually abusing girls and young women (Picture: The Fifth Estate/The Girls around Robert G. Miller)
A dying Canadian billionaire, accused of sexually abusing children and young women, could be sued if his body is defrosted and reanimated in the future.
Robert Miller, dubbed Canada’s Jeffrey Epstein, is facing a class action lawsuit brought by several woman who claim he groomed and sexually abused them, some while they were underage.
The 80-year-old suffers from a heart condition and late-stage Parkinson’s and is reportedly close to death.
He is a big donor to cryonics – where bodies are deep frozen with the hope of being revived – and is said to have discussed being frozen himself.
Miller’s alleged victims fear he will die before the case gets to court. But legal experts have floated the idea that if the businessman is brought back to life, he could still be sued, The Times reports.
Who is Robert Miller?
Miller is one of the world’s most secretive billionaires who, in 1968, founded Future Electronics, a company that distributes electronic components.
The firm was hugely successful becoming a multibillion dollar global empire, but Miller avoids the spotlight, giving just a handful of interviews over the years.
Very few photos of Miller are available as he reportedly rarely allows his picture to be taken (Picture: The Fifth Estate/ The Girls around Robert G. Miller)
It’s also reported the father-of-two does not allow his photo to be taken, with around three pictures coming up if you Google his name.
Due to his elusiveness, many of the women who accuse Miller of abuse didn’t realise who he was when they were targeted.
What is he accused of?
The first accusations came to light in September last year when a joint investigation by Radio-Canada’s Enquête and the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) was broadcast.
Around a dozen women say that between 1994 and 2006 Miller recruited them into a prostitution ring he and some of his employees ran.
Several believe they were approached because of their poor or difficult backgrounds. Miller apparently promised to help them, but never did.
Affidavits seen by The Times allege he offered his victims envelopes with cash in return for sex and sharing intimate baths.
Following the broadcast, the lawyer involved in the case, Jeffrey Orenstein, said up to 50 women had reached out to claim they had also been abused by Miller, some as far back as the 70s.
One of the women, whose name is given as Carmen, thinks she may be among his first alleged victims. She, like many of the other women and girls, knew him as Bob.
She said Miller had been a family friend and in 1977, when she was 12, he forced himself upon her while he was babysitting one night.
Miller has been dubbed the ‘Canadian Jeffrey Epstein (Picture: Corbis via Getty Images)
‘I cried because he hurt me. I felt completely violated, without knowing what that word even meant,’ she wrote.
The abuse continued for a number of years, she said, and he eventually gave her $10,000 and told her to ‘just keep your mouth shut’.
Miller denied the accusations in statements issued on his behalf and said he had suffered health issues for a long time, which included erectile dysfunction.
He accused his ex-wife, Margaret Antonier, of starting the rumours for ‘financial gain’.
Miller resigned as president, chairman and chief executive of his company days after the broadcast. He said this was to focus on his ‘very serious health issues’.
He then sold Future Electronics to a Taiwanese based company for C$5 billion dollars (£2.9 billion).
What is his connection to cryonics?
One of Miller’s previous employees, Pierre Guilbault – who was once Future Electronics’ chief financial officer – said in an interview that his boss at the time was hoping to die with ‘substantial funds’ to help him come back to life.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Miller has created so-called ‘personal revival trusts’ which are designed to allow people to reclaim their money in the future if cryonics have got to the point of successfully reviving humans.
It’s believed the billionaire has donated large amounts of cash to Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a cryonics organisation based in Arizona.
Miller is a supporter of cryonics and reportedly wants to be frozen himself (Picture: Cryonics Institute)
What exactly is cryonics?
Cryonics is the practice of preserving a human body at extremely cold temperatures after the person has been declared legally dead.
Legal death is when the heart has stopped, while total death is when all brain function has ceased.
The body is cooled down using liquid nitrogen, while cryptoprotective agents (similar to antifreeze) are used to replace blood and tissue fluid, preventing ice formation and cellular damage.
The body is then stored in a cryo-chamber at temperatures of around -196°C.
The freezing process aims to halt all biological processes, effectively putting the person in suspended animation.
It’s hoped that future scientific advancements will not only allow for revival, but also, in some cases, the cure of the disease that caused the person’s death.
Cryonics, legal in only a few countries, including the US, Russia and the Netherlands, remains controversial and unproven.
But supporters believe human revival could be possible in as little a 30 to 40 years time.
On its website, Alcor states that ‘there are no known credible technical arguments that lead one to conclude that cryonics, carried out under good conditions today, would not work’.
Alco charges around $220,000 plus membership ranging from $17-$100 a month for whole-body ‘cryopreservations’.
Cryonic tanks containing human bodies (Picture: Cryonics Institute/SWNS)
It has around 230 people stored in its tanks and a further 1,500 members from across the globe booked to join them when their time is up.
Could cryonic patients be tried for old cases after being revived?
With reviving dead humans still not an actuality, there are no laws in place when it comes to prosecuting a ‘revived’ human for a pre-death case.
Orenstein said, however, it might be something that needs considering, adding: ‘If you asked 100 years ago if things today would be possible, people would think you were crazy, but science has achieved some incredible things.’
But he questioned how you would conduct a trial if all your witnesses are dead.
He said he’s been working hard to get Miller’s case to court as quickly as possible, so the 47 alleged victims behind the lawsuit have a chance of getting justice.
They are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.
It’s believed Miller is currently bed-ridden but has normal cognitive abilities for someone of his age.
Earlier this year, the Metro took a look at the Cryonics Institute (CI) in Michigan, which has several British members.
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