Former Idaho Representative Aaron Von Ehlinger (R), who was convicted of felony rape of a teenage intern in April, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on Wednesday, multiple news outlets reported Thursday.
During sentencing in Ada County District Court, Judge Michael Reardon ordered Von Ehlinger to register as a sex offender and placed him under a no-contact order, which is set to last through 2055.
Reardon also told Von Ehlinger: “You have a pattern of explaining, excusing, deflecting and blaming others for the circumstances you find yourself in.” He reportedly added, “You see yourself as a victim and you see yourself as a hero, and frankly I don’t see you as either one of those things.”
The Republican politician was accused of rape by a statehouse intern who said he assaulted her at his apartment after they had dinner together the previous month.
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The victim, who has elected to keep her name anonymous, going by Jane Doe, said in a recording played during the hearing, “I am here now. I am here scared, I am here frightened, 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,” CBS News reports.
“I hope he rots in pieces behind those cold metal bars,” she added.
Von Ehlinger, who left office after 10 months on the job, denied the accusation in his resignation letter.
