BOISE, Idaho — Warning: The following story contains graphic language that may be disturbing to some readers.
Aaron von Ehlinger, the former Idaho lawmaker convicted of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern, has filed his official appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court asking the judges to vacate his conviction.
Von Ehlinger, on behalf of his public appeal attorney Eric Fredericksen, writes in the appeal that the district court during trial erred in allowing certain testimony from a nurse who examined Jane Doe, the woman he raped -- and that state prosecutors were framing questions to the nurse in order to lead her into making certain statements about the rape.
Von Ehlinger took the intern back to his apartment after dinner and sexually assaulted her in 2021. He was found guilty of forcible rape in April of 2022 and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Von Ehlinger now sits in the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino, according to an IDOC spokesperson.
In the appeal filed Wednesday, Fredericksen said the court never should have allowed Faces of Hope nurse Ann Wardle to speak to what Doe told her during her sexual assault examination as that is considered hearsay.
Wardle originally testified Doe told her von Ehlinger pinned her arms down, pulled down her head and forced her to perform oral sex. Von Ehlinger said on the stand that he did not force Doe to perform oral sex but rather manually stimulated himself and ejaculated on her stomach.
Doe could have corroborated the events Wardle expanded on, but when she was called to testify, she suddenly ran off the stand in what appeared to be a bout of terror. Fredericksen says because Doe could then not be cross-examined about the statements she made to Wardle, it violated von Ehlinger's Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser(s).
In retrospect, Idaho Rules of Evidence 803 says that the hearsay rule is exempt for statements made about medical treatment or then-existing mental emotional or physical condition.
The appeal also says von Ehlinger's original defense attorney Jon Cox did not object to this testimony during trial on the grounds of the Sixth Amendment, "which should not be held against Aaron."
Fredericksen claims in the appeal that if Wardle's testimony was not admitted, the outcome of the trial would have been different.
"The only evidence offered by the State related to the offense Aaron was convicted of, was presented by the FACES nurse, Ms. Wardle. As such, the erroneous introduction of Ms. Wardle’s testimonial hearsay cannot be harmless," the appeal states.
In the filing, Frederickson also says the state was "leading" Wardle, or suggesting the answer during cross-examination, when they asked if von Ehlinger forced himself inside Doe's mouth.
Cox objected to this but it remained in the record because of previously admitted evidence.
Because of this, Frederickson says the conviction should be vacated and the state failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
There is no telling when the Idaho Supreme Court could issue their opinion on the appeal -- according to an ISC spokesperson, it can be a few months, but that depends on the court's process.
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