Jury begins deliberations in rape trial of Idaho ex-lawmaker

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Jurors in the rape trial of a former Idaho lawmaker are weighing whether the case involves “power in the wrong hands” used to harm a 19-year-old intern, or consensual sex after a dinner date. Jurors began deliberations Thursday in the trial of Aaron von Ehlinger. He was charged after a Statehouse intern reported that he sexually assaulted her last year. Von Ehlinger told jurors on Thursday that the sexual contact was consensual during a first date. But investigators and a nurse said the intern sustained arm pain and a goose egg on the back of her head from being pinned down and trying to pull her head away from the lawmaker’s control. Deliberations were expected to continue Friday morning.