Idaho State Lawmaker Found Guilty of Raping Legislative Intern

Former Idaho state lawmaker Aaron von Ehlinger was convicted on Friday of raping a state legislative intern last year.

Ehlinger, 39, was found guilty in an Ada County court on the rape charge and was acquitted of a charge of forcible penetration by use of a foreign object, court documents show.

The victim, who was 19-years-old at the time, was interning for a different lawmaker. The victim accused Ehlinger, who was a 38-year-old Republican state representative at the time, of engaging in non-consensual sexual acts with her in March 2021 after he took her to dinner, CNN reported.

The representatives resigned after a state House committee listened to the intern’s allegations and unanimously recommended that von Ehlinger be censured and stripped of his duties.

He was also charged in the case in late 2021.

The victim was on the witness stand during von Ehlinger’s trial, but she left the courtroom while giving details about the assault.

“It was a human reaction, I think, when she ran from the room,” Katelyn Farley, Ada County’s deputy prosecuting attorney, said during a news conference on Friday. “I don’t think anybody could not have had a human reaction.”

Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said von Ehlinger’s conviction helps to send a message that “victims can be believed and that it’s important to reduce barriers for victims in coming forward.”

Von Ehlinger claims the sexual encounter was consensual. Jon Cox, who was an attorney for von Ehlinger, did not comment on the case.

A sentencing hearing for von Ehlinger is scheduled for July 28, and he faces a maximum of life in prison for rape under Idaho state law.

Von Ehlinger first took office in June 2020 after being appointed by Idaho’s governor.