Attorney Jon Cox, left, speaks with Aaron von Ehlinger as the court is in abeyance after the sentencing at the Ada County Courthouse on Wednesday. Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com
READ MORE
Aaron von Ehlinger rape case
Former Idaho state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, was found guilty of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern by a 12-person jury in April. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, August 31.
Expand everything
Former state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, who was convicted of rape in April, told an Ada County courtroom Wednesday that he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Israel before he was tried on two counts of sexual assaults.
He said that in order to be baptized, he had to confess his sins.
But while he confessed to many sins, he told the court that rape was not one of them.
Von Ehlinger continued to maintain his innocence after a jury found him guilty of raping a legislative intern in 2021. Fourth District Judge Michael Reardon sentenced the former Lewiston lawmaker to a total of 20 years in prison on Wednesday , with at least eight fixed, meaning he won’t be eligible for parole until 2030.
Reardon noted that von Ehlinger tried to become both a “victim” and a “hero.”
“Frankly, I don’t see you as one of those things,” Reardon told him.
The former inmate, 19 at the time of the sexual assault, said he forced her to perform oral sex in his Boise apartment after they had dinner in March 2021.
The woman remained anonymous throughout the trial and was referred to only as JV in court records. In a taped statement filed in court Wednesday, JV said she felt embarrassed throughout the criminal justice process, but hoped that coming forward would help other sex crime survivors.
“I hope (that) running can help forge a path for any future Jane or John Does here in Idaho,” JV said. “And to conclude, I hope he rots to pieces behind these cold metal bars.”
Under Idaho law, the maximum sentence von Ehlinger could have received was life in prison. Ada County Assistant District Attorney Katelyn Margueritte Farley asked for at least 15 years in prison for the former Republican lawmaker, with an additional 25 years in prison, probation or both. Von Ehlinger’s attorney, Jon Cox, argued for three fixed years and seven undetermined years
“Tonight is a night that JV should never have to happen,” Farley said. “The defendant does not believe he did anything wrong.”
Former Idaho State Representative Aaron von Ehlinger looks around the courtroom before the start of his sentencing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise on Wednesday. Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com
Von Ehlinger could spend up to 12 years on probation, or he could also spend some of that time in prison. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and $2,015 in restitution.
Reardon noted that 26 people sent letters on behalf of von Ehlinger. In von Ehlinger’s statement to the court, he said that even his former wife submitted a letter.
“They say I’m a good man, that they didn’t get into trouble,” said von Ehlinger, “that I was a good influence on their children.”
Von Ehlinger was originally scheduled to be sentenced in July. That was postponed because of a motion filed by Cox to retry the case or get an acquittal. Reardon denied the motion.
Reardon told the court last week that in a case like von Ehlinger’s, where the jury found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, he is not “willing to try to second-guess the jury’s decision.”
“I want to thank Jane Doe for her courage in this case,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in a statement. “I appreciate the tireless work done by Boise Police detectives on this case, which allowed my team to ensure that justice was served.”
Emily Lowe, a spokeswoman for the office, told the Idaho Statesman by text that the prosecutor’s office would not have additional comment.
Ada County Assistant Prosecutor Katelyn Margueritte Farley addresses 4th District Judge Micheal Reardon during the sentencing of former state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger at the Ada County Courthouse on Wednesday. Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com
Farley says von Ehlinger made other women ‘very uncomfortable’
During Farley’s argument, she said von Ehlinger made at least three other women “uncomfortable” during his few months as a lawmaker. He resigned his Idaho House seat last year after an ethics committee reviewed his behavior for “unbecoming conduct” and recommended his ouster.
House caucus chairwoman Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, told the ethics committee last year that a lobbyist had told her von Ehlinger followed the woman into the bathroom. A married staffer told then-Chief Secretary of the Idaho House Carrie Maulin that von Ehlinger asked her out on a date, which made her uncomfortable. A security guard also testified during the ethics hearings that he had a sexual encounter with von Ehlinger.
“It should be noted that each of these women, including JV, that the defendant pursued at the state Capitol were individuals who had a significant power differential between themselves and the defendant,” Farley said. “One was a security guard. One was a newspaper clerk. One was a lobbyist. And one was an intern.”
Farley also said during his deposition that von Ehlinger had no remorse for his actions, refused to admit any wrongdoing and continued to attack JV’s character.
The prosecutor noted that while letters delivered on von Ehlinger’s behalf made him appear as a hard-working, kind man of faith who would “never make a woman uncomfortable,” he was not that type of person.
“This is not the person who made several women feel so uncomfortable at the Statehouse that they reported him to their supervisors,” Farley said. “This is not the person that several lawmakers had to talk to him about his conduct … and this is not the person who took a 19-year-old girl into his bedroom, where he forcibly raped her.”
Cox said the prosecution painted von Ehlinger as a “deviant monster” and that his client was not jumping out of bushes and attacking women.
There were 776 reported rape cases in Idaho in 2021, and in about 75 percent of those cases, the alleged attacker was someone the survivor knew, according to data from the Crime in Idaho report.
Defense attorney Jon Cox, left, and Ada County Assistant Prosecutor Katelyn Margueritte Farley stand during the sentencing of former Republican state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger. Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com
“This is not the picture of a monster,” Cox said. “It’s a picture of a man, again, who gave military service to our country, who became a member of a state house of representatives.”
Cox also argued that JV’s audiotaped statement should not have been played in court because he did not hear it beforehand. Reardon disagreed.
Boise State University criminal justice professor Lisa Growette Bostaph previously told the Statesman that recounting a sexual assault is re-traumatizing for survivors. JV attempted to testify at von Ehlinger’s trial, but left the stand after a few moments and his testimony was stricken from the record.
“You have to talk about something incredibly traumatic and incredibly personal, in front of strangers, when you probably didn’t even want to tell your parents,” Bostaph said. “There is not enough preparation to predict whether or not a victim will be able to pull through…