Former legislator convicted of rape appeals to Idaho Supreme Court

BOISE — The Idaho Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in the appeal of Aaron von Ehlinger, a former legislator convicted of raping a then-19-year-old legislative intern.

In 2022, an Ada County judge sentenced von Ehlinger to 20 years in prison, with eight years fixed and 12 years indeterminate, for the 2021 rape. Von Ehlinger represented Lewiston during his time in the Legislature.

The woman reported the assault after it occurred, which led to a House ethics investigation, which ultimately led to von Ehlinger resigning from the House of Representatives.

Von Ehlinger, 42, is in prison and is seeking to have his conviction and sentence overturned based on evidence presented during the initial trial.

The victim of the case began testifying at his first hearing, but left abruptly after less than 10 minutes, saying “I can’t do this” and never returned to the hearing. At the time, von Ehlinger’s attorney did not request a mistrial. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of the forensic nurse who assisted the victim at what was then known as the Faces of Hope Victim Center. The nurse told jurors what she learned from the victim during the sexual assault examination.

Erik Lehtinen of the state Appellate Public Defender’s Office represented von Ehlinger on Monday. He argued that the trial attorney should have objected on several points during the nurse’s testimony, but he did not. Because the victim was referred to Faces of Hope by law enforcement, Lehtinen questioned whether the nurse’s role was to serve as a medical provider or evidence collector.

At the time, Faces of Hope was an advocacy program that featured law enforcement and medical providers with the goal of providing better assistance to victims in one place. But defense attorneys argued that such programs better assist prosecution and law enforcement.

Judge Cynthia Meyer questioned Lehtinen about whether the victim’s mental and emotional health, as well as his physical health, were the nurse’s concern and whether asking questions about the assault was part of that.