FORT COLLINS — Loveland alien abduction author Stanley Romanek on Thursday was sentenced to two years in a halfway house and ordered to register as a sex offender at the conclusion of a child pornography case that began nearly five years ago and entangled a Loveland Police Department detective in a lawsuit.

Romanek, 55, was found guilty by a jury in August of felony possession of child pornography on a computer in his Loveland home and not guilty of a more serious felony charge of distributing child pornography.

Romanek gained a following within UFO and alien abduction circles through claims that extraterrestrial beings have contacted him at his Loveland home. His court case was further publicized by a documentary on how his controversial claims have affected his life. The documentary was syndicated by Netflix’s streaming service just weeks before his trial began.

The trial was drawn out four years after a search of his Loveland home in 2013 yielded numerous illicit nude images of prepubescent children.

LPD Detective Brian Koopman executed that search warrant, and was later sued by former LPD officer Tammy Fisher, who complained Koopman falsely accused of her of a crime after the detective investigated Fisher on suspicion of illegally alerting Romanek he was the target of a police investigation.

Fisher’s lawsuit was dismissed by a federal court, though, because she was never formally charged with a crime. Additionally, Koopman faced a criminal trial on accusations he had lied in his police work, but he was found not guilty. He also was named in a lawsuit filed by Loveland resident Jeremy Myers, alleging an unconstitutional search, that was settled by the city of Loveland on behalf of Koopman and LPD.

Eighth District Judge Susan Blanco barred a witness in the trial from telling the jury about litigation Koopman has faced in the past.

Blanco heard from a nine people who went to bat for Romanek asking for a light sentence at Thursday’s hearing. All nine, including Romanek’s sister Ann Romanek, his wife Lisa Romanek and several friends, told Blanco the alien abduction author had been generous in all of his relationships, and some still expressed disbelief that Stanley Romanek ever committed a crime.

“I’m still in shock my brother was found guilty of having child pornography on his computer. He has never exhibited deviant behavior. I will never believe he is guilty of knowingly having child porn,” Ann Romanek said.

Other speakers acknowledged Stanley Romanek has spent time with their children and grandchildren, and he was never perceived as a threat.

“Stan loves kids, he would never do anything to harm a child,” Lisa Romanek said.

Prosecutor Josh Ritter noted that Stanley Romanek has continued a “really unjustifiable level of denial” in committing any crime, while asking for a sentence to Larimer County Community Corrections, the formal name for the halfway house. Ritter also asked that Romanek be put into denier’s treatment while in the community corrections program.

Ritter also accused Romanek of falsifying pieces of evidence listed as exhibits for the trial but which were never submitted to the jury. Ritter said video of a cursor moving on Romanek’s computer screen without anyone operating a mouse were doctored to allow Romanek to claim his device was hacked by government or a paranormal research group. Such a defense was never used during the trial.

Before Blanco obliged Ritter’s request for a sentence, Romanek’s defense attorney, Theodore McClintock, pointed out that Romanek has the constitutional right to remain silent and not admit to any crime, especially with his client’s appeal to the conviction pending.

McClintock also pointed out that the crime Romanek was convicted of does not inherently indicate any sexual attraction to children.

“That is only an underlying assumption,” McClintock said.

McClintock also pointed out that Romanek already has suffered punishment from the case, such as cancellations of his professional speaking engagements in UFO circles.

Romanek also briefly addressed Blanco before she doled out the sentence.

“I am a decent human being, a good person. I would like to beg the court’s mercy. I will do whatever you ask me to do,” Romanek said.

Blanco ultimately agreed with the prosecution, though, while noting she believes Romanek possesses desirable qualities.

“I do believe there is good in you. But I do not subscribe to the belief that because I cannot name the people in those pictures, and that they might be 40-year-old adults now, that they are not still shamed by them,” Blanco said. “I believe there may be hope for rehabilitation.”

Romanek fought tears as he was remanded into police custody, where he will remain until bed space opens in the community corrections program. He will likely not be a full-time resident of the halfway house for the full two-year sentence, but will eventually allowed into the community with supervision.

Romanek also will be subject to 10 years of sex offender intensive supervised probation, barred from using computers or electronic devices without being monitored and will also be unable to legally contact children under 18 years old without approval from the community corrections program.

Lisa Romanek exited the courtroom in tears.

Sam Lounsberry: 970-635-3630, lounsberrys@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/samlounz.