BOISE, Idaho — The case against former Idaho Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger will proceed to Fourth District Court, a magistrate judge ruled Friday after a preliminary hearing.
von Ehlinger is accused of sexually assaulting a legislative intern on March 9, and was arrested in September on charges of rape and forcible penetration by use of a foreign object.
The Idaho Legislature's ethics panel in April recommended von Ehlinger be censured or expelled for "conduct unbecoming a representative." The Republican lawmaker from Lewiston resigned before the House voted on what action to take.
In Friday's preliminary hearing, Anne Wardle, the sexual assault nurse examiner who talked with and examined von Ehlinger's accuser, a 19-year-old woman identified only as "Jane Doe" or "JD," testified that she examined Doe and collected forensic evidence, a "rape kit," on March 11 at the Faces of Hope Victim Center in Boise.
While Jane Doe did not have any physical injuries that required medical treatment, Wardle said Doe reported some arm pain and that she had bumped her head on a headboard while trying to get away from von Ehlinger.
She also said she remembers Doe "being upset and tearful," and she referred Doe to counseling.
Wardle described in graphic detail what Doe said happened in von Ehlinger's apartment -- that she remembered him carrying her from a couch to his bed, that he touched her genitals (internally and externally), and that he sat on her chest and forced her to engage in oral sex.
Neither Doe nor von Ehlinger spoke at the hearing, but von Ehlinger has said the sex was consensual.
Wardle said Doe told her she and von Ehlinger had been out for a "nice dinner," but that she had said she did not want to have sex with him.
An arraignment for von Ehlinger is scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 8 in Fourth District Court.
The judge's finding of probable cause in Friday's preliminary hearing is based on a lower standard of proof than the standard for conviction in a trial, which will take place at a later date if von Ehlinger enters a "not guilty" plea.
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