Not guilty plea by man in Vt. lesbian custody case

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Tennessee missionary charged with helping a woman get her child out of the United States as part of a high-profile lesbian custody case in Vermont says he’s not guilty.

Timothy David Miller, who was indicted May 12 for allegedly helping Lisa Miller abscond with her 9-year-old daughter Isabella, didn’t attend his arraignment Wednesday in federal court in Burlington. A public defender entered the not guilty plea for him.

Prosecutors say he helped Miller — who’s unrelated to him — take Isabella to Nicaragua in 2009 as part of a custody dispute with former partner Janet Jenkins, of Fair Haven.

Timothy Miller, a Mennonite missionary, is free on bail.

Lisa Miller, of Virginia, and Jenkins were joined in a civil union in 2000 but broke up after having the child.