MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Virginia pastor is scheduled to testify next month before a grand jury investigating the kidnapping of a now-10-year-old girl by her mother, who fled the country rather than share custody of the child with the Vermont woman who was once her civil union partner, the pastor's attorney said Monday.
Court documents filed in the case do not indicate who federal prosecutors are investigating or what information they are seeking from Kenneth Miller of Stuarts Draft, Va.
Miller's attorney, Joshua Autry, of Camp Hill, Pa., said Monday they are not going to appeal a decision by U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions rejecting their motion to quash the subpoena, served on Miller after his conviction on a charge of helping Lisa Miller and daughter Isabella travel from Virginia to Canada and then on to Nicaragua in 2009.
Kenneth Miller is scheduled to testify on Nov. 15, Autry said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Van de Graaf said he could not comment of any aspects of grand jury proceedings.
Kenneth Miller was convicted by a federal jury in August on a charge that he arranged for Lisa Miller and Isabella to travel from the U.S. to Nicaragua, where they are still believed to be living. He faces up to three years in prison. No sentencing date has been set.
Lisa Miller and Kenneth Miller are not related.
Janet Jenkins, of Fair Haven, and Lisa Miller were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000 and Isabella was born to Lisa in 2002. The couple split up in 2003. A Vermont family court awarded custody of Isabella to Lisa Miller but gave Jenkins regular visitation.
Lisa Miller returned to Virginia, became a conservative Christian, renounced homosexuality and sought full custody of the girl. She and Isabella disappeared in September 2009, two months ahead of an expected decision by the Vermont family court to transfer custody to Jenkins because of Miller's refusal to abide by the visitation orders.
Lisa Miller is a fugitive.
Jenkins has filed a civil lawsuit against Kenneth Miller and a number of other groups she alleges helped Lisa Miller and Isabella flee the country. The defendants in that case are expected to file their response to that lawsuit by Oct. 29.