Affidavit claims officer turned off bodycam
The arrest affidavit for 28-year-old Dylan Miller, the former Loveland Police Department officer accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl last summer while on duty, claims that before the assault took place he had taken off his name tag and body camera.
This detail, along with other information, was in an affidavit filed in the case that is pending in 8th Judicial District Court.
The victim’s story
According to the affidavit, the 15-year-old girl went to the Loveland Police Department on Oct. 23 with several other people to report that she had been the victim of a sexual assault earlier that summer; the name of the victim and several others connected to her were not included in the released affidavit.
The victim told Sgt. Alex Hutchinson that in the overnight hours of the day in question she was at North Lake Park with a male friend. She told Hutchinson that, while there, they were contacted by an LPD officer, who told the boy to go home.
She said the officer then had an hour-long conversation with her, eventually telling her to walk with him to a secluded area where he hugged her, fondled her breasts, rubbed her hand on his genitals and made her perform oral sex on him, according to the affidavit.
The victim then went on to speak with forensic interviewer Tera Stenston, during which she provided greater detail as to what allegedly happened that night.
The victim told Stenston that she worked a shift at her job and, once she got home, she communicated with her friend on Snapchat about going to the park, according to the affidavit. She then sneaked out of the house and she and her friend rode their bikes to North Lake Park.
She said that an LPD officer driving a Tahoe drove up while she and her friend were sitting in a lifeguard chair, at which time the victim looked at her phone and noticed it was 12:01 a.m., according to the affidavit.
The officer allegedly told the male friend to leave, which he did, and then told the victim he wanted to speak with her. The victim told Stenston that she felt confused as to why her friend was told to leave but she had to stay even though they “did the same thing,” according to the affidavit.
She said the officer spoke with her for about an hour, asking her several times “how they were going to deal with her being out after curfew and in the park.” She said she provided the officer with several options such as community service, but he told her no.
She said the officer told her to stay where she was while he went back and reparked his car to face away from her. The victim told Stenston that the officer returned and she believed that he was no longer wearing a body camera or his name tag.
The officer then allegedly told her to walk with him, leading her to a picnic table away from the street. She said that, once again, he asked what they were going to do to fix the situation, adding that “everything verbally was off the table and it would have to be something physical.”
She said she told the officer she didn’t know what she could do and to simply write her a ticket because she wanted to leave.
At this point, she alleged, the assault occurred, and then the officer told her she was going to go home,
he was going to leave, they were never going to see each other again and they weren’t ever going to talk about it, according to the affidavit. He also asked her if she knew his name and she said no.
The victim told Stenston that she went home and cried.
She identified the officer as “tall” at around 5-foot-9 with a big build, dark hair and a mustache with a small goatee. She also said he was wearing a black ring and a black Apple watch.
She also told Stenston she had seen the officer before, saying she was in a car with several friends that he had previously pulled over. She said at the time the officer did not ask the driver for his license, but told them to go home.
Several days after speaking with Stenston, the victim identified Miller as the officer that assaulted her that night after being shown photos of all of the male officers who worked at the department.
Investigators also spoke with several other people whose names have been redacted, including the friend who was with the victim at the park that night. He told investigators that the officer who approached them told him to go home and then he “got handsy” with the victim.
Miller’s story
On Oct. 27, Miller agreed to meet with investigators to talk about an allegation that had been made against him.
During this interview, Miller was shown a picture of the victim but said he did not recognize her, saying that if he had contacted juveniles in the park, he may have told them to go home but denied that he would have told a male to go home and leave a female in the park, according to the affidavit.
Investigators asked him if he normally wears a watch, as he did not have one on during the interview, and Miller said he usually wears a Garmin but had broken it several weeks prior.
Early into the interview, Miller requested an attorney and the interview was stopped. The affidavit did not include any information on if Miller was asked about his body camera.
Miller’s case
Miller has since been charged with first-degree kidnapping, a class 2 felony; sexual assault of a child from a position of trust, a class 3 felony; unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer, a class 3 felony; sexual assault, a class 6 felony; official
oppression, a class 1 misdemeanor; and first-degree official misconduct, a class 1 misdemeanor.
The 28-year-old was hired at the department in May of 2022 after leaving the Durango Police Department where he served for two years.
During a bond hearing in early November, Reid Elkus, Miller’s attorney, argued the former officer is innocent and served not only in law enforcement but is also a disabled veteran.
“He has served the community as well as the United States faithfully,” Elkus said at the time.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Luke Birky, on the other hand, described Miller as a sexual predator who used his power as a police officer to commit the alleged crime.
“It is a person who literally has control over someone’s personal liberty, which would certainly not be lost on a child,” he said at the time.
Magistrate Jeffrey Schwartz ultimately set a $300,000 cash or surety bond; court records show Miller posted this bond on Nov. 16.
Miller is scheduled to appear before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Joseph Findley for his next hearing at 4 p.m. April 15.