Former Idaho Rep. von Ehlinger makes first court appearance on sexual assault charges
A former Idaho legislator accused of raping a 19-year-old earlier this year made his first appearance Wednesday morning in an Ada County court.
Aaron von Ehlinger, a Juliaetta resident, appeared virtually alongside his attorney, Jon Cox, during the hearing. Cox and von Ehlinger were seated in Cox’s office in Boise.
The hearing was von Ehlinger’s first appearance on two felony charges: rape and forcible penetration by use of a foreign object. Von Ehlinger was accused earlier this year of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in March while she was working as an intern in the Idaho Statehouse.
The hearing lasted only a few minutes, as Magistrate Judge John Hawley mentioned the two charges against von Ehlinger before Cox waived a formal reading of those charges. Hawley also mentioned that a no-contact order is in place between von Ehlinger and the accuser in the case. Von Ehlinger said he is aware of that.
The former Republican legislator’s next court appearance will be for a preliminary hearing, which is slated for the morning of Oct. 29.
The court appearance comes over a month after a warrant was issued for von Ehlinger, who was arrested two weeks later. He stepped off an airplane and was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
During a news conference last month, Cox told reporters that von Ehlinger was returning to the United States from Central America to turn himself into law enforcement when he was arrested in Georgia. Cox said von Ehlinger was in Central America for a previously planned vacation when he heard a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
Von Ehlinger was held in a Georgia jail for several days before Ada County sheriff’s deputies flew to Georgia and returned with him the next day. Von Ehlinger was booked into the Ada County Jail on Friday and was released shortly after. Because his arrest warrant was a book-and-release warrant, von Ehlinger went through the jail booking process and was free to leave the jail without posting a bond.
Von Ehlinger — who has denied all allegations against him —resigned from the Idaho House in April just hours after an ethics committee unanimously recommended to expel him from his seat in Idaho’s 6th House District.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 10:35 AM.
