The verdict followed a sad three-day trial in which von Ehlinger vehemently challenged the allegations, insisting the meeting was consensual, and his attorney, who testified under the pseudonym Jane Doe, left the court in the middle of her emotional testimony. Her dramatic exit meant her testimony was completely canceled, creating a seemingly insurmountable obstacle for prosecutors, criminal defense attorney David P. Sapiro said before the verdict. “It will be very, very difficult, if not impossible, to be convicted without her testimony,” Shapiro, who was not involved in the case but has handled many similar cases, predicted in The Daily Beast. But the jury was able to hear strong testimony from Doe’s mother, as well as from a hospital nurse who examined Doe after the attack, finding their statements credible enough to condemn the failed politician. At the kiosk, von Ehlinger, 39, said he met Doe while working at the Idaho Statehouse, and the couple chatted in the hallways and texting before arranging to dine at a Boise grill. He said the date had gone “well” and Doe accompanied him home afterwards. He claimed that Doe held his hand on his way back to his apartment and that he willingly accompanied him to his bedroom. “I complimented her, let her know how beautiful she was … She never gave me any indication that she did not want to take part in it,” von Ellinger testified. He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture and that his confession had been obtained through torture. She claimed she was then aroused by hand and ejaculated on Doe’s stomach with her consent. Prosecutor Katelyn Farley, on the other hand, said von Ehlinger told Doe that he had to go to his apartment after dinner to get something and that as soon as they arrived, he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. There, Farley said, von Ehlinger attacked her, putting his penis in her mouth and holding her hands down as he ejaculated in her stomach. “She did not stop and did not listen [Doe]”Farley told the jury, describing the case as a case of” power indifference “. On Thursday, von Ehlinger’s lawyer, Jon Cox, claimed that his client, an Army veterinarian, had previously injured his back in a service-related helicopter crash and was unable to lift Doe and transport her as is described. But a nurse treating Doe at a local hospital said in her emotional testimony that the teen was just a reluctant participant. “She did not want to be there,” said Anne Wardle, who took the rape test and said Doe was crying when she recounted the experience. “He did not want his penis close to her mouth.” Wardle said Doe, who had previously volunteered at a domestic violence advocacy center, had a “goose egg” on her head from a wall or von Ehlinger’s head as she tried to escape. On Wednesday, Doe took the step for a while, but got up abruptly and left the courtroom after apparently trying to compose herself in front of the alleged attacker. He said, “I can not do that,” before leaving the courtroom. Doe has been targeted by von Ehlinger’s Republican colleagues from the beginning. Last August, Republican Rep. Priscilla Giddings revealed Doe’s identity on social media and in an email to voters, with right-wing bloggers posting her name and photo online. Von Elinger, who resigned from state policy shortly before his arrest, faces life in prison and forced registration as a sex offender.
