WARREN — An Amish man prosecutors say may have “significant developmental disabilities” was arraigned Monday after being secretly indicted — accused of sexually assaulting four children, with the youngest alleged victim being 3 years old.

Michael Miller, 21, of Bundysburg Road, Middlefield, appeared in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court before Judge Cynthia Rice Monday morning, where he pleaded not guilty. The court determined Miller will be held without bond at the county jail pending a pretrial hearing today before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Andrew D. Logan.

The adoptive parents of Miller, also from the Amish community, were present in court, and Miller’s attorney, Ross Smith, told the court they will support Miller, who Smith said has “significant underlying issues, mental delays.”

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman said the case revolves around allegations from four children of the Amish community who are ages 3, 4, 5 and 7.

Over the past month, Wildman said investigators had been searching for Miller, who had an active warrant for his arrest.

“He’s a member of the Amish community so there’s some challenges there as far as allowing outsiders in and reporting things to law enforcement,” Wildman said.

Since joining the Child Assault Prosecution Division of the prosecutor’s office about 15 years ago, Wildman said the Amish community has gotten better about working with investigators.

The indictment states that some offenses took place as far back as January through December of 2022 and summer / fall of 2023, but as is common with cases of this nature, Wildman said there was delayed disclosure, with the victims only coming forward recently.

“Because these victims are so young, they all came forward at the same time. One (victim) leads to another and CSB did an investigation so there wasn’t a delay on law enforcement,” Wildman said. “Once it was investigated, we presented it quickly to a grand jury and he (Miller) was indicted about three weeks ago before he was arrested.”

Wildman said there were some challenges with the case, explaining that some of the victims are in Geauga County, and the crimes Miller faces in common pleas court took place in Trumbull County.

The assistant prosecutor said there could be “carryover” from Geauga County authorities, but said their office has been sharing information with Trumbull officials as the case continues to take shape.