A seven-woman, five-man jury deliberated for just over an hour Monday afternoon before convicting Miley on all 57 counts. The jury ruled he molested two teenage brothers over a four-year period. Richland County Common Pleas Judge James Henson sentenced Miley to 38 years in prison. Miley received 35 years after his May 2005 case, but he faced more charges this time.
Miley received a retrial because of a judicial error in the first case.
“We didn’t want to get into any bad acts or any previous convictions,” Prosecutor James Mayer Jr. said of this trial.
Defense attorney Joseph Salzgeber said another appeal is possible.
“We’re going to consider our options,” he said. “We’re obviously disappointed in the outcome.”
Assistant Prosecutor Bambi Couch-Page, who tried both cases with Mayer, hopes she never sees Miley again.
“It’s done, and we made sure everything was clean,” she said while accepting congratulations from a number of people.
The father of the brothers smiled as Henson read the verdict, while his sister clasped hands with the mother of Miley’s previous victim. The two women, near tears, were barely able to contain their joy.
Four of Miley’s loved ones sat quietly on the opposite side of the courtroom.
The victims’ father credited the state.
“I’m just so appreciative of the prosecutor’s office,” he said. “They really get after it.”
The brothers, who spent a combined 11 hours on the stand, were not present for the verdict. Their father discouraged them from attending.
“They’re doing better,” he said, “but there are still some issues they’re going to have to deal with the rest of their lives.”
Henson also declared Miley a sexual predator, meaning he will have to register with the county sheriff every 90 days for the rest of his life upon his release from prison.
Mayer predicted Miley would not make it out of prison.
“He’ll be an old man if he lives that long,” the prosecutor said. “It’s pretty hard to live that long when you’re in the Ohio penal system.”
Henson ruled Miley presents the greatest threat of recidivism.
“It’s not his first time,” the judge said. “It’s not even the second time.”
Couch-Page said Miley demonstrated a “behavioral blueprint.”
“He targets young boys,” she said. “He likes blond-haired, blue-eyed boys from families that are in a tumultuous time. He places himself in the role of father figure or someone who can be trusted.
“Mr. Miley doesn’t view his behavior as anything out of the ordinary.”
Salzgeber asked Henson for the lesser declaration of sexually oriented offender, pointing out he had been a law-abiding citizen for the bulk of his life.
Miley declined to address the court.
Jurors shook hands with Mayer and Couch-Page as they left the courtroom. Some also shook hands with Salzgeber, who admitted some of the defense witnesses didn’t help Miley’s case.
“Some of them were nervous,” he said. “That’s not always conducive to getting everything out there.”
“Let’s not do this again,” he said to the attorneys with a smile.
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