BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A former Idaho congressman was convicted Friday of raping a 19 -year -old congressman after a dramatic trial in which a young woman fled from a witness while testifying and said, “I didn’t that can be done. ” .
The intern told a State House administrator that Aaron von Elinger raped her in his apartment after the two ate at a restaurant in Boise in March 2021. He said sex was okay.
Von Elinger was Leviston state representative at the time, but later resigned.
Von Elinger, 39, was convicted of rape on Friday. He was found not guilty of having intercourse with a foreign object.
Von Elinger sat quietly while the verdict was read, as well as during the trial. Von Elinger spoke softly to his lawyer, who removed things from Von Elinger’s pockets when he was handcuffed and imprisoned.
Subsequently, District 4 Judge Michael Reardon told the jury, “This is an unusual case with many unforeseen circumstances, but I appreciate your attention … and hard work.”
The sentence is set for July 28.
The Associated Press generally did not name people who said they had been sexually assaulted and in this case called the woman “Jane Doe” at her request.
Doi went on to describe the moments of the alleged attack before the witness suddenly left.
“He was trying to insert his fingers between my legs and I closed my knees,” Doi said.
“I can’t do that,” he said, and hurried out of the classroom.
The judge gave prosecutors 10 minutes to find him to determine if he would return and continue the testimony.
When he failed to do so, the judge told the jury that they should “break (testify) as if it had never happened” because the defense would not question him.
In his testimony on Thursday, Von Elinger often spoke loudly and clearly to jurors, saying Doi and I decided to go back to their apartment to “chase” after eating at the beautiful Boise restaurant. Then they lay down on the sofa he said.
“Things went well and I asked (Dos) if he wanted to go to the bedroom,” von Ellinger said. He said: Of course. We got up, shook hands and went to the bedroom ”.
The deliberations lasted seven hours until 8pm on Thursday, before the jury decided to rest for the night. At one point, the judge called the lawyers to his room as the jury questioned him. Details of the jury’s investigation were not disclosed.
When the allegations were revealed, mostly due to a legislative ethics investigation, Dow faced relentless harassment from some of Von Elinger’s supporters. Her name, photos and personal details about her life have been repeatedly revealed in “doxing” incidents. One of the people who often harassed him was in the courtroom to watch the trial, but police did not accompany the man to the floor where the case was being heard.
In her final arguments, Ada County Deputy Attorney Kathleen Farley told the jury that the case was about “power in the wrong hands,” used to cause “substantial destruction.” Von Elinger had social, political and physical power over a small intern, Farley said.
“He used this force to rape her and forced her to enter,” said Farley, who pointed to von Ellinger. Doi resisted in several ways, he said, featuring testimony from law enforcement investigators and a nurse who questioned Doe after the alleged attack.
“Words show a lack of consensus. The rationale” why shouldn’t this happen “shows a lack of consensus.” Withdrawal and illness indicate a lack of consensus, “Farley said.
But Von Elinger’s lawyer John Cox told the jury that the prosecution’s case consisted of a “derivation” and said Von Elinger was a trustworthy man who voluntarily stood up and shared his side of the story. . .
Earlier this week, jurors heard of investigators and nurses conducting a rape investigation. They show that Doi was told he was being attacked when Von Elinger forced him to have oral sex and he knew he often carried a gun and placed it near the bed while being attacked. The nurse also testified that Dos had a “goose egg” in the back of his head that hit a wall or headboard as he tried to stay away from Von Elinger.
Source: Huffpost
