Former Idaho state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years behind bars for raping a 19-year-old intern.
Von Ehlinger, a Republican, was convicted of a rape charge in April and will be eligible for parole after he serves eight years, according to 4th District Judge Michael Reardon, who blasted the former lawmaker for not showing remorse for his actions.
FORMER IDAHO LAWMAKER FOUND GUILTY OF RAPING 19-YEAR-OLD INTERN
“You have a pattern of explaining, excusing, deflecting, and blaming others for the circumstances you find yourself in,” Reardon scolded, the Associated Press reported.
In March of 2021, an intern came forward alleging that von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment following a dinner the pair had, which the former state lawmaker denied, saying the encounter was consensual, per the report. He previously claimed during testimony she never gave him any indications “that she was not wanting to participate.”
He pleaded not guilty, but a 12-person jury found him guilty of one felony count for raping her. During the sentencing hearing, audio was reportedly played of the former intern recounting the experience and describing panic attacks from hearing his name.
“I am here now. I am here scared, I am here frightened, [and] I am so petrified, but I will not be intimidated into silence so that another rapist can slip through the cracks of this justice system,” she said, per the news outlet. “I hope he rots in pieces behind those cold metal bars.”
Last year, the Idaho House Ethics Committee unanimously recommended expelling von Ehlinger from the state House, and he subsequently stepped down.
Von Ehlinger recalled his military service in Afghanistan during sentencing and told the judge that he fought to protect women. He also explained that he embarked on a pilgrimage before his trial.
“I was ultimately baptized in the Jordan River,” von Ehlinger said, noting he was first required to confess his sins. “I confessed a lot of sins your honor — I am not a perfect man — but rape was not a sin that I could confess to. It would be [a] sin to confess to something that I did not commit,” von Ehlinger explained during his sentencing.
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Slamming von Ehlinger for displaying a lack of compassion toward his former intern, Reardon declared that the former lawmaker “created your own circumstances that put you here today.” The judge also required von Ehlinger to register as a sex offender via an order that will last until 2055.
The Washington Examiner reached out to a lawyer for von Ehlinger for comment.
