Former Pastor Charged With Child Exploitation

The former pastor of Sparta United Methodist Church is charged with five felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

A November 2 warrant for arrest, issued by the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, charged Bobby Randall Miller, 74, of Roaring Gap with three counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

The warrant said Miller allegedly possessed visual representations of minors in sexual situations.

On August 30, members of the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation responded to a call for service in Roaring Gap, regarding suspicious material on an individual’s cellphone. Investigators developed probable cause to seize the phone and submit it to the SBI laboratory for forensic examination. After the examination was completed, Miller was charged with the felony offenses.

Miller was pastor of Sparta United Methodist Church from 2008 to 2021.

Miller was given a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on November 10th.