Former Idaho Republican House Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger has been sentenced to serve no less than 8 years but up to 20 years in prison, with the possibility of 12 years of probation, and will be required to formally register as a sex offender upon the time of his release, for the rape of a 19-year-old Idaho House of Representatives legislative intern, according to the brutal ruling handed down today by Fourth District Judge Michael Reardon.
Von Ehlinger will also remain subject to a no-contact order against his victim, identified only as “Jane Doe” in the court proceedings, that will remain in effect until Aug. 30, 2055. The former Republican House Rep. was granted a 139-day credit as time served for the days he spent in Ada County Jail prior to his official sentencing and has been ordered to pay court fees and restitution in the amount of $2,015. Von Ehlinger’s sentencing comes just four months after a jury of his peers found the former GOP congressman guilty of some of the charges lodged against him. The jury found the ex-lawmaker not guilty on the second charge of oral penetration. Statute dictates that Judge Reardon had the discretion to sentence von Ehlinger to anywhere from one year in prison to life in prison for his crimes.
The 19-year-old legislative intern and victim of the congressman, known only as Jane Doe to protect her identity and personal safety, accused then-39-year-old von Ehlinger of taking her out to dinner in early Marck 2021, before taking her back to his apartment where she said he forced her to perform oral sex and penetrated her with his fingers without consent.
Prosecutors were gunning for a 40-year sentence for von Ehlinger with 15 years fixed and the remainder of the 40-year sentence either in prison or possibly on parole. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Katelyn Farley asserted that the former congressman maintained a low probability of rehabilitation, based on the pre-sentencing investigation conducted by a doctor to assess von Ehlinger’s risk of reoffending.
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Jon Cox, the attorney for the former Republican congressman, was of course searching for a lighter sentence for his client with retained jurisdiction. This would have allowed von Ehlinger to complete a rehabilitation program and then be reassessed by Reardon for sentencing. The judge smacked down the offender’s request to retain jurisdiction.
Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Emily Lowe confirmed that von Ehlinger’s victim did not wish to make a public statement following the sentence, and reports have noted that Doe was only able to appear on the stand very briefly during the trial, before fleeing in tears. However, she did record an extremely heartbreaking victim impact statement that prosecutors played during the sentencing.
Read those details from Raw Story here.
Featured image via screen capture
