SB Now

Mike Miller looked tired and worn in his green jumpsuit, which indicates that he is in protective custody because he is accused of child sex crimes.

Miller appeared to the court for less than a minute, and gave monosyllabic answers to a few simple questions.

Interestingly, he said he could not afford an attorney, so the judge appointed a public defender.

The molestation charges against Miller have rocked the city and helped unleash a
torrent of other allegations about oversight of Operation Phoenix and Miller's fitness for a management role.

Miller faces 24 counts, including a forcible lewd act and upon a child. The alleged abuse occurred between Oct. 1 of last year and last Wednesday, the day before Miller's arrest. The young girl was 6 when the abuse began, and later turned 7.

There are charges of abuse involving two children this year, both girls ranging from 6 to 7 years old.

THere are also of a lewd act upon a child committed from June 1997 through November 1998. That girl, the third alleged victim, would have been 12 when the abuse began. Today she would be 23, based on her date of birth.

What just months ago was still routinely hailed by city leaders as a short-term and long-term blow to local crime is now dogged by charges of molestation, dangerous misconduct, lax oversight and flouting of child-safety rules.

Miller, a mid-level parks and recreation employee since the late-1990s, ascended to the role of Phoenix Center manager in mid-2006. While continuing as a parks and recreation employee, Miller also began working closely with Glenn Baude, a code enforcement
director who was tapped by Mayor Pat Morris as Operation Phoenix's overall director around the same time.

Miller was placed on unpaid leave the day of his arrest last week. Sheriffs spokesman Cindy Beavers said Tuesday that Miller was held in protective, solitary custody at West Valley Detention Center.

Miller's fall from grace has been swift. After becoming a prominent city official over the last two years, routinely drawing praise from the mayor and city council members. Now, his name has been removed from the city's online Operation Phoenix resources, and remnants of his tenure have been wiped from his office in the center on Sierra Way.

A reporter visited Miller's Highland home Monday. A woman appeared to be loading a car with belongings. A man in his mid-20s said the family would not comment on Miller's behalf.

"We're done here," the man said.