Ex-Republican Lawmaker's Trial for Raping Teen Intern Goes Off the Rails [View all]

[Eugene]

Source: Daily Beast

'I CAN'T DO THIS'

Ex-Republican Lawmaker’s Trial for Raping Teen Intern Goes Off the Rails

A day before Aaron von Ehlinger took the stand in Idaho, his accuser became so distressed that she fled the courtroom in the middle of her testimony.

Justin Rohrlich
Reporter
Updated Apr. 28, 2022 7:19PM ET / Published Apr. 28, 2022 6:50PM ET

A disgraced Republican lawmaker charged with raping a teenage intern testified on Thursday that he believed the act had been consensual, following a first date he described as a successful one.

But in the middle of her own testimony a day earlier, former Idaho State Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger’s accuser, identified in court filings only as “Jane Doe,” became so distressed that she fled the courtroom, saying, “I can’t do this” as she walked out.

When it became apparent that Doe would not be returning, the prosecution rested its case, bringing an abrupt end to a lurid trial that has captured national attention.

Given Doe could not be cross-examined, Judge Michael Reardon ordered her testimony stricken from the record, telling jurors to disregard everything she said. The jury will now have to deliberate “as if she never showed up at all,” said criminal defense lawyer David P. Shapiro, who is not involved with the case but who has handled numerous similar ones.

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-idaho-lawmaker-aaron-von-ehlingers-trial-for-raping-an-intern-goes-off-the-rails