UFO enthusiast's child pornography trial in jury's hands now

UPDATE 8/8:Romanek found guilty on 1 child pornography charge

A jury will begin deliberations Tuesday in the trial of a Loveland man accused of possession and distribution of child pornography.

Defense attorneys made their closing arguments to jurors Monday afternoon, urging them to look at the evidence in its entirety and not base their verdict solely on the felony charges against 54-year-old Stanley Romanek, reinforcing their opening arguments.

"The truth is, we don't have any idea who was on the computer," said Defense Attorney Ted McClintock. "They don't know; the detective doesn't know; you don't know. And that is a reasonable doubt."

McClintock told jurors that deputy district attorneys wanted them to find Romanek guilty for child pornography based on what was found on his laptop, but it can't be directly linked to him beyond a reasonable doubt.

"We know Stan Romanek writes books," McClintock said of the UFO enthusiast. "We know Stan Romanek writes books about things (the prosecutors) may not believe in. ... that a lot of people may not believe in. That's not a crime in the United States of America."

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Romanek has written multiple books about reported alien abductions and extraterrestrial life, and a documentary about his reported experiences was just released on Netflix last month.

McClintock cast doubt on Romanek's wife, Lisa, and her son Jacob Shadduck. The attorney said because there were other individuals living in and visiting the home at the time the child pornography was found and they were not investigated, the images and videos couldn't be directly linked to Stanley Romanek.

Shadduck reportedly "blew up his computer" with a shotgun while living in the Romanek home near the time the search warrant was executed, McClintock said.

On the other side, prosecuting attorneys in their closing arguments painted the defense team as tossing out different ideas to see what would stick.

"The defense puts out a number of theories, and that's what they are: theories. ... What we've given you is cold, hard forensic evidence," Deputy District Attorney Joshua Ritter said.

None of their theories explain the forensic evidence tying Romanek's IP address and computer to possession and distribution of child pornography or the lack of evidence supporting a hack, Ritter said.

"This computer there is this man's personal child pornography machine," Ritter said, adding that a large volume of child pornography was found on the computer and "so little else."

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Defense attorneys also called into question Loveland Police Detective Brian Koopman's credibility, based on testimony from a former Loveland Police officer, Tammy Fisher, and Larimer County resident Stacy Lynne.

Fisher sued Koopman in January 2015, alleging he violated her constitutional rights in connection with an accusation that she tipped off the Romaneks about the child pornography investigation. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in May.

Ritter said even if one were to assume the allegations against Koopman were true, "what does it actually explain when you look at this forensically?"

"It is speculation, and it is an imaginary doubt," he said.

The 12-member jury in Eighth District Court will start its deliberations at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, and two alternate jurors are available if they need to fill in for others.

Judge Susan Blanco reminded jurors, after an objection from McClintock about a date that Ritter mentioned, that they should base their decision-making on their own memories of the evidence and documentation, not just the closing statements.

Reporter Saja Hindi covers public safety and local politics. You can follow her on Twitter @BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.