Providence Man Pleads to Narragansett Rape

WAKEFIELD – A Providence man will serve 15 years at the ACI following a plea in Washington County Superior Court today to multiple sexual assault and video voyeurism charges against him.

Narragansett police arrested Harley Miller, 25, of 45 Linwood Ave., Providence, on Memorial Day in 2011 after he allegedly raped a 20-year-old woman following a cookout. Miller has been held at the ACI since his arrest.

In court on Wednesday, Miller pleaded to three counts of first degree sexual assault, one count of second degree sexual assault, and one count of video voyeurism. All are felonies, and first degree sexual assault has a maximum penalty of life in prison.

In return for his plea, Miller was sentenced to 15 years at the ACI for the first degree sexual assault charges. Following his release, he would be responsible for a 10-year suspended sentence and 10 years of probation.

For the video voyeurism charge, Miller was ordered to serve three years at the ACI. For the second degree sexual assault charge, Miller was ordered to serve two years at the ACI, following by an eight-year suspended sentence and eight years of probation.

All of the jail terms will run concurrently, according to court documents.

According to Narragansett police reports included in court documents, at about 4 a.m. on May 31, 2011, they were called to a home on Aroostok Trail for a sexual assault.

The victim told police that she had fallen asleep on a chair at the home between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m., following a cookout. She told police that she woke up shortly before they arrived to find her panties down, and Miller having sex with her and filming it with his iPhone.

The victim told police that she then started to scream and fought Miller off, at which point he tried to apologize to her and calm her down. At that point, several of her friends came into the room and separated the two, with the victim screaming to them that Miller had raped her.

Police said that as a result, they seized Miller’s phone as evidence.

According to police, a review of the media on Miller’s phone revealed a 17-minute video of Miller touching, fondling and having sex with the unresponsive victim. Police said Miller took footage of his face and of the victim from various angles.

According to witness statements provided to police, Miller and the victim met at the cookout. Both knew people hosting the event – Miller was invited by co-workers he knew from his work at Clean Water Action in Providence.

In his initial police interview, Miller allegedly told them that he knew he screwed up, and claimed to have blacked out. However, police then asked him how he was coherent enough to make more than 30 minutes worth of video that night, and he didn’t answer.

Police also found an older recording made by Miller from a party in Providence. In this video, Miller is fondling the breast of a sleeping woman. Police contacted the woman, but she did not want to press charges.

Based on the video evidence and evidence at the scene, Miller was held without bail at subsequent hearings. As a condition of his pleas, he will be subject to sexual offender counseling and registration upon his release. A no-contact order between Miller and the victim is in effect until May 2036, the maximum allowed by statute.