The former Idaho state representative was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty earlier in 2022 of sexually abusing a legislative intern from 19 years in 2021.
Aaron von Ehlinger, aged 40, was found guilty last April of a rape charge and was also acquitted of a charge of forcible penetration through the use of a foreign object, according to court documents.
For his part, Michael Reardon, Ada County District Judge, sentenced the former legislator to 20 years in prison for the guilty conviction, with the right to parole after eight years in prison.
The judge indicated that von Ehlinger tried to pass himself off as a “victim” and a “hero”. “Frankly, I don’t see you as any of those things,” Reardon said.
The ADA County Attorney’s Office had requested a ruling from 40 years with 15 fixed years before being eligible for parole, according to a statement from the county attorney’s office, Jan Bennetts. In addition, he was ordered to pay a civil penalty of 5, dollars and 2,015 dollars in restitution.
“I want to thank Jane Doe for the courage she has shown in this case,” Bennetts wrote in the statement. “I appreciate the tireless work done by Boise police detectives on this case, which enabled my team to ensure justice was served.”
The abuse victim, who at the time was a 19 year-old intern for a different legislator, accused Von Ehlinger, then an Idaho representative of 38, of engaging in non-consensual sexual acts with her in March 2021 after taking her out to dinner.
The legislator resigned in April 2021 after a state House committee heard the intern’s accusations and unanimously recommended that von Ehlinger be censured and stripped of the powers of his office without pay .
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