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 State 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 se ...

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, he served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2009 to 2019 and as an Ida ...

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) is a city in and the county seat of Clearwater County, Idaho, along Orofino Creek and the north bank of the Clearwater River. It is the major city within the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. The population was ...

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

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

Career

Von Ehlinger served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. 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. 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 far-right politician serving as a member of Idaho House of Representatives from the 7A district. She was a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Idaho in the 2022 election. In 2021 she was censured by t ...

, 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 capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

after returning to the U.S. from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, 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 crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...

after he is released.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlinger, Aaron Living people 1982 births People from Orofino, Idaho Military personnel from Idaho University of Alabama alumni Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians Idaho politicians convicted of crimes American people convicted of rape