LOVELAND, Colo. — A federal charge has been filed against a former Loveland Police officer who is accused of sexually assaulting a minor in August, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.
The charge was filed last week in U.S. District Court against Dylan Andrew Miller, according to the indictment. If convicted, Miller faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Miller was arrested in November after the victim, a teenage girl, came forward saying she was assaulted by Miller while he was on duty. He also faces charges in Larimer County of first-degree kidnapping, sexual assault, official oppression and official misconduct. Those charges are separate from the federal indictment.
The victim told investigators she had been contacted previously by Miller during a traffic stop, according to the Larimer County arrest affidavit. The victim said she next saw Miller in late July or early August when she and a male friend were at North Lake Park after-hours, sitting in lifeguard chairs. Miller, who was on duty at the time, contacted the girl and her friend. He told her male friend to leave.
According to the arrest affidavit, the girl said that left her "confused" because she and her friend had done the same thing, but he was allowed to leave and she had to stay.
The document says she and Miller spoke for about an hour – while he questioned her about how they were going to "handle" her being out after curfew. Eventually, she said, Miller told her to stay there while he re-parked his car.
RELATED: Teen girl says former Loveland officer removed his name tag, body-worn camera before assaulting her
When he returned, the affidavit says, he was no longer wearing his body-worn camera and had removed his name tag. She reported that Miller asked her to take a walk with him and they moved to a secluded area where he asked again what they were going to do to "fix this."
He explained, according to the document, that everything "verbal" was off the table and it would have to be "physical." At that point, the teen said she was assaulted.
Afterward, the teen reported that Miller explained to her that she was going to go home and he was going to leave and they were "never going to see each other again" and were never going to talk about it, the affidavit says. Miller also asked the girl whether she knew his name, and she replied no.
Once she reported the assault, she was shown all the photos of the men working at Loveland Police and picked out Miller as the person responsible for the assault. The GPS on his department-issued laptop showed that he was in the area of North Lake Park around the time the assault occurred.
Investigators were also able to locate information about a prior traffic stop with the victim and Miller. It happened about a week before the assault.
Miller agreed to a voluntary interview and said he did not recognize the girl when shown her photo. He admitted that he may have "hugged" someone but denied doing anything else.
Miller is next due in court on April 1.
He had been a patrol officer with Loveland Police since 2022. He previously worked as an officer with Durango Police from 2020 until early 2022.
Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer told 9NEWS that his department reviewed files and records about Miller's time with the agency and couldn't find any similar allegations. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office and Loveland Police said previously that there may be other victims who have not yet come forward.
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