BOISE, Idaho — Former state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger was found guilty Friday of raping a legislative intern by a 12-person jury after 11 hours of deliberations over the course of two days.
The jurors’ decision followed an emotional three-day trial in which key testimony from the woman, now 20, was cut short and stricken from deliberations.
Von Ehlinger was accused of two felony counts, rape and forcible penetration by use of a foreign object. The former intern, 19 at the time of the sexual assault, said he forced himself on her at his apartment after they had dinner. The jury found him not guilty on the forcible penetration charge.
“Victims can be believed,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said at a news conference Friday, alongside the two prosecutors assigned to the case.
The 39-year-old von Ehlinger has repeatedly denied the accusations against him and maintained that he had consensual sex with the accuser, identified by the initials J.V. in court. Von Ehlinger, a Juliaetta resident, resigned from the Idaho House last year just hours after a legislative ethics committee unanimously recommended to expel the Republican from his seat.
Von Ehlinger’s attorney, Jon Cox, quickly walked away Friday when asked by a member of the media for a comment. The Statesman’s efforts to reach Cox were unsuccessful.
Von Ehlinger could face anywhere from one year to life in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender. His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 28.
The former lawmaker was immediately taken into police custody Friday and will be booked into the Ada County Jail.
Throughout the trial, the court heard testimony from more than half a dozen witnesses — a majority of them called by the prosecution — who testified about the sexual assault. That included a nurse who examined J.V. and two detectives who spoke to her.
The jury also heard von Ehlinger’s nearly two-hour testimony Thursday, when he recounted a different version of events on the night of March 9, 2021, when the rape occurred.
Jurors arrived at the verdict despite being unable to use key testimony from the accuser. J.V. testified briefly on Wednesday, but abruptly left the stand in the middle of describing the sexual assault.
J.V. said von Ehlinger had put his hand between her legs, and she closed her legs, shortly before she cut her testimony short. Since von Ehlinger’s attorney was unable to cross-examine her, 4th District Court Judge Michael Reardon instructed the jury to strike the testimony.
“I can’t do this,” J.V. said as she walked away from the witness stand.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Katelyn Margueritte Farley said the prosecution prepped its case knowing how difficult it would be for J.V. to enter the courtroom.
Lisa Growette Bostaph, a Boise State University criminal justice professor, told The Idaho Statesman by phone that recounting a sexual assault experience is retraumatizing for survivors. She said it’s best practice for police to limit the number of questions and the number of times survivors must recount the events.
“You have to discuss something incredibly traumatic and incredibly personal, in front of strangers — when you likely didn’t even want to tell your parents,” Bostaph said. “There isn’t enough preparation to predict whether or not a victim is going to be able to overcome that unnatural environment to provide a recounting of an extraordinarily traumatic event.”
Sexual assault cases are also less likely to lead to a conviction than other crimes.
Out of 217 reported rape cases in Ada County, only 13% of them led to an arrest, according to data from the Crime in Idaho report. Two out of three sexual assault cases never get reported to police, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, or RAINN.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Whitney Welsh, a prosecutor on the case against von Ehlinger, said it was critical to let J.V. decide whether she was ready to testify.
“I think it’s important that she decided to walk in the room and she also decided to walk out,” Welsh said at Friday’s press conference.
When asked by the Statesman about the barriers sexual assault victims face throughout the legal system, Bennetts said raising awareness is key.
“Obviously, it’s one of those things where victims feel, you know, a lot of emotions and coming forward and what it’s going to be like for them,” Bennetts said. “You’re covering it and raising awareness.”
