Jurors are deliberating whether Dylan Miller, the former Loveland police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl while on duty in August of 2023, is guilty of violating her civil rights.
To cap a more than two-week long trial of 30-year-old Miller in U.S. District Court in Denver, federal prosecutors on Monday argued that Miller deprived Olivia of her bodily integrity, while the defense said the teen accused Miller of sexual assault to explain a period of bad behavior in their closing arguments. Deliberations began around 11 a.m.
Miller was arrested in November 2023 after a girl who was 15 at the time reported she was sexually assaulted. Miller has denied the allegations.
The teen, who is using the pseudonym Olivia during the trial to protect her identity, told investigators that Miller approached her and a friend in North Lake Park after it was closed and accused Miller of asking her friend to leave, according to the arrest affidavit from a Larimer County case. The officer then allegedly led Olivia to a secluded area of the park where he made her perform oral sex on him, the affidavit states. Olivia initially told investigators the incident happened in July, but further investigation determined it occurred early Aug. 4.
Miller previously pleaded not guilty to deprivation of civil rights, a class four felony, according to the indictment. If convicted, Miller could face life in prison.
In closings, U.S. attorney Alecia Riewerts described the alleged incident as an “ultimate betrayal of trust,” adding that Olivia thought an officer would protect her and instead put his penis in her mouth. She reminded the jury about testimonies that corroborated Olivia’s story, displayed mobile data terminal records from his vehicle that showed Miller at North Lake Park that night, and said Olivia picked Miller’s photo out of 89 photos of Loveland police officers.
“She felt like he could turn that power around and get her in trouble if she tried to say anything,” Riewerts said, adding that Olivia was already worried about getting in trouble for being in the park after curfew.
Defense attorney Kristen Frost called Olivia an unreliable narrator and a liar during closings, referring to the changed date of the alleged assault and inconsistencies in her story. Frost said Olivia accused Miller of sexual assault after she ran away in October 2023 from the home of her grandparents, who are her legal guardians, to explain her bad behavior, which also included sneaking out, taking liquor from her grandparents’ cabinet, and smoking marijuana.
“She didn’t even have time to pause and think about what she had just done to an innocent man’s life,” Frost said, adding that leading questions during the investigation and from her grandparents put ideas in Olivia’s head.
Frost also said that Olivia told investigators the person who assaulted her was wearing a wedding ring and an Apple Watch, but photos shown to the jury of Miller from his shift on Aug. 3 didn’t show either.
Miller is also facing state charges in 8th Judicial District Court in Fort Collins of first-degree kidnapping, a class 2 felony; sexual assault of a child from a position of trust, a class 4 felony; unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer, a class 3 felony; sexual assault of a person with a 10-year-age difference, a class 6 felony; official oppression, a class 1 misdemeanor; and first-degree official misconduct, a class 1 misdemeanor for the incident, according to court records. He has not entered a plea in that case.
Miller is set to appear in that case at 11 a.m. Dec. 8 in court in Fort Collins.