Hours after a legislative ethics committee voted that he should be suspended or permanently expelled for misconduct, an Idaho lawmaker accused of rape resigned Thursday, the Idaho Statesman reported. The former representative, identified as Aaron von Ehlinger, was accused of raping a 19-year- intern.
Investigations against von Ehlinger began in March after the young staffer reported he raped her in his apartment after the two had dinner. After the Idaho House Ethics and House Policy Committee unanimously agreed that von Ehlinger engaged in “behavior unbecoming” with not one but multiple women at the Statehouse and decided to censure him, he resigned, denying all accusations and maintaining that the incident was consensual.
"After careful deliberation and prayer, I have determined that I will not be able to effectively represent my constituents in the House of Representatives, and have decided to resign my seat effective immediately," von Ehlinger wrote in the letter.
His resignation letter was read on the state House floor.
This is far from over, resigning from a cushy job where it's easy to crime isn't punishment, even if it feels like it is. He wants us to see his "sacrifice" but that was going to happen with or without his consent.