Former Idaho Republican lawmaker found guilty of raping intern

Former Idaho Republican state representative Aaron von Ehlinger was found guilty by a jury this week of raping a then-19 year old legislative intern in March last year.

The 12-person jury reached a guilty verdict for one count of rape and a not guilty verdict for a count of sexual penetration with a foreign object on Friday after almost seven hours of deliberation.

The victim, identified only as J.V., appeared on the witness stand to testify during the trial in which she fled the room in the midst of questioning.

The former Lewiston Republican, who resigned after the rape allegations surfaced last year before he could be voted out of office by his colleagues. He was found guilty of forcibly penetrating the woman after the two went on a date to a Boise restaurant last year.

After the date, they returned to von Ehlinger’s home, where the woman says he held her down and forced her to perform oral sex, after he had attempted to put his hands between her legs and she closed her knees.

The victim went to a local hospital after the incident, and a nurse who testified in the trial said she arrived with a “goose egg” on her head from trying to get her head away from von Ehrlinger and hitting it on the bed. The nurse also recalled the woman saying she was scared because she knew von Ehrlinger frequently carried a firearm, which he had placed on the bedside table near the couple on the night of the rape.

A rape conviction in Idaho carried a minimum sentence of one year and a maximum of life in prison. The sentencing trial in this case is scheduled for July 28.