Emily Moreno, the ex-wife of Republican Ohio Rep. Max Miller, sued him Wednesday for posting a folder that included a nude photograph of their two-year-old daughter.
Miller released a Dropbox folder on Aug. 2 to defend himself against Moreno’s domestic abuse allegations, which included a nude photograph of their daughter. Moreno’s legal team alleged that Miller and his attorney, Aaron Minc, “recklessly” published a photograph depicting their daughter’s genitalia, according to the lawsuit.
“Faced with a mostly self-inflicted dumpster fire of public attention to his reputation for abusive behavior, Miller so desperately wanted to salvage his political job, that he recklessly and intentionally provided Minc a trove of documents and photos, indifferent about what they contained or how they were used,” the lawsuit stated.
Miller posted a video statement denying all of the allegations against him and maintained he would not end his reelection bid. Afterward, he posted Minc’s Dropbox folder on X, which over 400,000 users viewed, according to the lawsuit.
Miller and Minc allegedly refused to provide information about how many times the image had been disclosed or accessed, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit accused Minc of lying that the folder only included a photo of the child topless.
Minc started on Aug. 4 that he was responsible for the photograph’s release and that he was under an “enormous amount of pressure” to get the files live quickly. Moreno’s attorney claimed the folder contained child sexual abuse material.
“Miller and Minc knew or recklessly disregarded that neither R.M. nor Ms. Moreno consented to that image’s disclosure and publication,” the lawsuit alleged. “Because Ms. Moreno had counsel, Minc did not speak with her to get her consent. Miller specifically distributed the link to try to publicly humiliate and discredit Ms. Moreno, acting without her permission or consent, and uncaringly using a nude image of his daughter in the process.”
Minc called the child sexual abuse material allegations “outrageous and false” in emails exchanged with Moreno’s legal team on Aug. 4, according to NOTUS.
“Please explain to me, right now, what knowledge you have and relied on when you leaked that letter to the press that the photos attached to that exhibit ‘could be considered’ CSAM,” Minc wrote in the Aug. 4 email. “Keep in mind, this photo was taken by your own client and shared over a court-sanctioned communications platform.”
Moreno requested the court award $150,000 in liquidated and statutory damages “for every time someone accessed, transferred, distributed, published, or downloaded the image,” according to the lawsuit.
Moreno accused Miller of scalding her with hot water from a pan in June 2024 and of holding a gun to her head in March 2025. She alleged that Miller fractured their daughter’s collarbone, which Miller vehemently denied.
Moreno’s father, Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, accused Miller of purposely not returning his daughter’s blue bunny. Miller accused the senator of lying in an Aug. 5 X post, which included screenshots of emails between him and his ex-wife about having someone pick up the bunny.
Miller and Moreno filed restraining orders against each other.
The Ohio Republican Party cannot replace Miller because he did not drop out by the Aug. 5 and Saturday deadlines. If he dropped out by the Aug. 25 deadline, Democratic Ohio congressional candidate Brian Poindexter would run uncontested in November.
(DCNF)