Peninsula photographer sexually assaulted models, DA says
REDWOOD CITY — A photographer sexually assaulted five women during photo shoots on the Peninsula, according to San Mateo County prosecutors who have filed 11 felony charges against the man.
Chad Samuel Miller, 38, pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment hearing Friday.
The women described a similar process leading up to the assaults, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe. They had agreed to pose in photo shoots with Miller, saying they were flattered to be asked to model for a photographer, or saw it as a way to advance their modeling careers, Wagstaffe said.
But Miller pushed the women to perform sex acts during the shoots, Wagstaffe said, and “when they weren’t going along, he forced it.”
The alleged assaults happened between August of 2014 and June of 2016, according to prosecutors. The women got in touch with each other after one of them wrote a post accusing Miller of sexual assault on social media.
Prosecutors charged Miller last December with 11 felony sex offenses. A judge found at a June preliminary hearing that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to a trial, which has been scheduled for January.
An attorney for Miller did not respond to a request for comment Friday.