Aaron von Ehlinger (born Aaron Anson Ehlinger; May 7, 1982) is an American former politician and convicted sex offender who served as a member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate seats. ...

from the 6th district. He was appointed to the House by Republican Governor

Brad Little Bradley Jay Little (born February 15, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Idaho ...

on June 3, 2020, and resigned on April 29, 2021. In 2022, he was convicted of raping a legislative intern, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime.

Early life and education

Von Ehlinger was born and raised in

Orofino, Idaho Orofino ; (''"fine gold"'' rein Spanish language, Spanish) is a List of cities in Idaho, city in and the county seat of Clearwater County, Idaho, Clearwater County, Idaho, United States, along Orofino Creek and the north bank of the Clearwat ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Career

Von Ehlinger served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, where he was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. After leaving the Army, von Ehlinger has worked as a substitute teacher and real estate developer. He was appointed to the

by Governor

on June 3, 2020, filling the seat left vacant after the death of

Thyra Stevenson Thyra Kay Stevenson (September 4, 1944 – May 11, 2020) was an American politician from Idaho. She was a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of Idaho House of Representatives from District 6 in the A seat, dying in office. Early ...

. Von Ehlinger sponsored a bill to restrict the government's ability to place public art. The bill (HB 311) was presented to the House Revenue & Taxation Committee. He claimed that the government displaying public art was a waste of the taxpayer's money.

Rape conviction

In April 2021, von Ehlinger was accused of "unconsented sexual contact" with a teenage legislative intern. Von Ehlinger denied the allegations, stating that the encounter was consensual. The Idaho House Ethics Committee and Boise Police Department later began investigations into the allegations. In August 2021, after the allegations surfaced, another Republican house member,

Priscilla Giddings Priscilla Giddings is an American politician who was a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from the 7A district from 2016 to 2022. Claimed by numerous media outlets to be a member of the Far-right politics, far-right faction of the Idaho ...

, from

White Bird, Idaho White Bird is a city in Idaho County, Idaho. The population was 91 at the time of the 2010 census, down from 106 in 2000. History At the southwest corner of the Camas Prairie, White Bird is near the Salmon River crossing point for the Lewis a ...

, exposed Ehlinger's victim's identity on social media, emailing it to constituents, with right-wing blogs subsequently posting the girl's name and her photo online. It was later reported that Legislature Ethics Committee documents disclosed previous complaints against von Ehlinger for unwanted advances toward female employees; von Ehlinger had been warned about this behavior. After the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously to recommend that von Ehlinger be expelled from the House, he resigned from his position on April 29, 2021. On September 25, 2021, von Ehlinger was arrested in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

after returning to the U.S. from

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, where he had been since May 2021. On October 8, 2021, von Ehlinger was arrested on felony charges of rape and forcible penetration after being extradited to Idaho and booked into the Ada County Jail. He was released the same day. On April 29, 2022, Ehlinger was found guilty on the charge of rape and acquitted on the charge of forcible penetration. On August 31, 2022, Ehlinger was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. He will be required to serve at least eight years before being eligible for parole, and to register as a

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

after he is released.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlinger, Aaron Living people 1982 births American people convicted of rape American prisoners and detainees American politicians convicted of sex offences Idaho Republicans People from Orofino, Idaho Military personnel from Idaho University of Alabama alumni Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives Idaho politicians convicted of crimes Prisoners and detainees of Idaho United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 21st-century members of the Idaho Legislature