BOISE, Idaho — Note: This story contains graphic content and accounts of sexual assault that may be disturbing to some readers.
A former Idaho lawmaker accused of raping a Statehouse intern during the 2021 legislative session took the stand in his own defense Thursday morning, testifying that the 19-year-old never gave any indication that she did not consent to the sexual encounter.
Aaron von Ehlinger, 39, is charged with felony rape and felony penetration with a foreign object.
The intern, identified only as Jane Doe, told police that von Ehlinger had raped her in his downtown Boise apartment after they went out to dinner together, penetrating her with his finger and forcing her to perform oral sex, despite her telling him "no" and saying that she did not want to do it.
Von Ehlinger denied that version of events, saying on the stand that he never put his finger inside the young woman and that he asked "do you want to" before she willingly performed oral sex on him.
"She never once gave me any indication that she did not want to participate in this," he said.
Von Ehlinger, a Republican from Juliaetta who resigned his seat in the Idaho House a month after Jane Doe went to police, also denied that the 19-year-old had said "no," told him her was hurting her, or asked him to stop. At one point, she told him she was not on birth control and that "tonight is probably not a good night to have sex," and he did not push the issue, he said.
The woman told a sexual assault nurse that von Ehlinger kneeled on top of her, pinning her arms down with his knees before ejaculating onto her, but von Ehlinger said he was not holding her down when that happened, and that the woman had never seemed "frozen" or paralyzed during the encounter.
"That's impossible, she participated in the whole thing physically," he said.
Prosecutors urged the jurors to focus on the power differences between von Ehlinger and the intern, to whom he gave cookies and his personal cell phone number before asking her on a date.
Jane Doe "was never a willing participant" in what happened the night of March 9, 2021, Prosecutor Katelyn Farley said, and signaled her discomfort in her actions and excuses before outright telling von Ehlinger to stop.
"She didn't want to be there," Farley said. "She didn't want his penis anywhere near her mouth."
Farley accused the suspect of changing his story about what happened, questioning his assertion that he spent ten minutes taking off his clothes and putting them away piece by piece in the middle of a "passionate" encounter, and suggesting he was not telling the truth about whether he was carrying a handgun that night.
She also asked the jury to consider Jane Doe's change in demeanor after that night and why she had a documented "goose egg" on the back of her head if she had not pulled away from von Ehlinger, smacking her head into the wall, as she said.
"There is no gray area," she said. "Unfortunately, this happened. [Jane Doe] was raped by the defendant."
Defense attorney Jon Cox argued in his closing statements that the prosecution had fallen far short of proving von Ehlinger's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
"You have heard from one person of the two people that were in that room," he said, adding that von Ehlinger gave a "plausible and reasonable explanation" for what happened.
Jane Doe took the stand briefly Wednesday afternoon, but bolted from the room mid-testimony. Judge Michael Reardon instructed the jurors they cannot consider what she said during their deliberations because the defense did not have the chance to ask her questions before she left.
"You should treat that incident as if she never came into the court," Reardon told jurors.
Cox asked jurors to reject the argument that von Ehlinger held power over Jane Doe because of his position as a lawmaker.
"There is no evidence of a power differential," he said. "There is nothing against the law about a 38-year-old dating a 19-year-old."
Closing arguments wrapped up and the jury began their deliberation shortly before 1 p.m.
If convicted, von Ehlinger faces up to life in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender.
Check back for updates.
Live updates from court:
Friday 9:09 a.m. - The jury is back at the courthouse to deliberate for a second day.
7:52 p.m. - That's it for tonight. The jury is still deliberating, but they're breaking for the night after meeting for seven hours and one minute. The jury will be back Friday between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
6:13 p.m. - Jon Cox just walked by; he told us the jury has a question. The prosecution, defense, and judge get to confer on how to answer it. Not sure they're going to take it up in open court.
4:16 p.m. - Jury could decide to break for the day at 5 p.m. and come back in the morning or keep deliberating if jurors feel like they are close to a decision. We are waiting to find out.
12:50 p.m. - The case is now going to the jury for deliberation. It's up to them to decide now.
12:49 p.m. - Judge Reardon is now picking the alternate juror. It's one of the male jurors. The jury is now an even split between men and women.
12:48 p.m. - Think also of von Ehlinger's "why," Farley says. Why he testified, and why his version of events don't match. "He continued to use that power and control to rape her," Farley says.
12:46 p.m. - Farley: "Why would she report this? Why would she go through a sexual assault examination? Why would she make the decision to pursue criminal charges? Why would she go through this process?"
12:44 p.m. - Farley is back up. You don't have to decide this case in a vacuum, she says. Use the evidence you have to weigh credibility, weigh the case as an entire package, not part-by-part, she says.
12:43 p.m. - "I'm asking you -- you have to find Aaron von Ehlinger not guilty of these charges," Cox says.
12:42 p.m. - Each of the jurors gets to make their own decision, even if they do not come to a consensus, Cox says.
12:40 p.m. - Cox: "You have heard from one person of the two people that were in that room."
12:39 p.m. - Cox and von Ehlinger "did not sit around and plan what we are going to say; that would be unethical to me," Cox says. He said he told his client to tell the truth.
12:39 p.m. - Aaron von Ehlinger denied Jane Doe's version of events, Cox says. "He looked me in the eyes and said, 'this is not how it happened; this is not how it went down."
12:36 p.m. - "They are grasping. They are reaching," Cox says of the prosecution. He says von Ehlinger has given a "plausible and reasonable explanation" of what happened that night.
12:35 p.m. - Aaron von Ehlinger took the stand to give jurors a chance to judge his credibility. Of the two people in the room, he was the only one they get a chance to see answer questions from both sides, Cox tells the jurors.
12:34 p.m. - "That's a hired gun is what that is," Cox says, suggesting the state brought in Dr. King because they didn't have any real proof.
12:33 p.m. - Cox brings up the moment where he told King he was abused sexually, asked if she believed him, then after she said "yes" said that was untrue and he had made it up.
12:32 p.m. - Cox is talking about Dr. King, says that she was talking in general, not about this case, and notes that testifying for the prosecution "is her go-to, is her schtick."
12:31 p.m. - Cox says the state is focusing on Jane Doe's affect -- seeming distressed or upset -- not on evidence of what happened.
12:28 p.m. - Objection sustained. Cox continues.
12:27 p.m. - Cox is talking about Jane Doe saying she didn't want to pursue the case after she went to police, then reversing course again in April to pursue charges. The prosecution objects; lawyers are conferencing with the judge now.
12:26 p.m. - Cox calls the idea that touch DNA found in Jane Doe's vagina proves that von Ehlinger put his fingers inside her is "absurd." (There was not enough to test.) There are "hundreds" of ways male DNA could have gotten there, Cox says.
12:24 p.m. - All the evidence you have been presented from Jane Doe's side of things is what Anne Wardle says Jane Doe said, Cox says.
12:22 p.m. - "The state is hanging their hat on that idea" that Jane Doe's demeanor changed after this encounter. The prosecution wants you to feel sorry for her, Cox says.
12:20 p.m. - "There is no evidence of a power differential" between von Ehlinger and Jane Doe, Cox says. "There is nothing against the law about a 38-year-old dating a 19-year-old." Cox later says, "It doesn't create a power differential just because he is older and he holds a position in the House of Representatives."
12:19 p.m. - The state says this is about power and credibility, Cox says. "You have heard no evidence at all of efforts by Aaron to seek out a relationship" with Jane Doe or to use his position as a lawmaker, he says.
12:15 p.m. - We're back. Cox is up now (for defense). He's talking about the presumption of innocence and how the prosecutors have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
12:02 p.m. - She's finished. Ten-minute break before defense closing arguments.
12:02 p.m. - Farley asks how Jane Doe got her head injury if everything went the way von Ehlinger says it did. "What took place on March 9 was the defendant used his social status, his social power, his physical power" to rape Jane Doe, she says.
12:00 p.m. - "He goes, 'oh, hold on, let me go spend ten minutes in my closet organizing and putting away my laundry,'" she says. "You can decide whether you find that version credible or not."
11:58 a.m. - She calls von Ehlinger's statements about what happened "pretty inconsistent." "Three versions for three audiences," she said, talking about his two letters about what happened and his testimony today.
11:57 a.m. - Farley is reminding jurors that "verbal resistance" is more common than physical fighting back when the victim knows her attacker, according to Dr. King. "There is no gray area. Unfortunately, this happened. [Jane Doe] was raped by the defendant."
11:55 a.m. - "March 9 devastated [Jane Doe,]" Farley says. Jane Doe was scared to go back to the Capitol, she said. "She is terrified she is going to have to face a man who just raped her."
11:54 a.m. - After March 9, "She was no longer that confident strong independent woman," according to her mother
11:51 a.m. - Farley: In 2020, Jane Doe was a page - "top-notch kids," as Blackburn described them. Right out of high school, she gets the opportunity to be an intern. Before March 9, by her mom's words, she was strong, independent, and confident, the prosecutor said.
11:49 a.m. - Jane Doe "was never a willing participant," Farley says. "She didn't want to be there. She didn't want [to perform oral sex on him]."
11:48 a.m. - "She does not want to be there. She does not want this to be happening," Farley says. She continues: "[Jane Doe] tells him, 'I don't want to do this and she yanks her head back," Farley says, telling jurors to remember the "goose egg" on the back of her head.
11:46 a.m. - "He physically picks her up and takes her back to the bedroom," Farley says. "Inside the bedroom, [Jane Doe] states she is not ready." The prosecutor notes that Jane Doe told the nurse he "yanked" her shirt down. "Words are important," she says.
11:44 a.m. - "She tells Anne [Wardle, the sexual assault nurse] 'he is a lot bigger than me, he is armed.' You don't have those thoughts if you are going there willingly."
11:42 a.m. - There is a power differential here, Farley says. Von Ehlinger is a lawmaker, is bigger, older, outweighs her, carried a gun, "[Jane Doe] was just out of high school," she says.
11: 39 a.m. - She's going through the five elements that must be true for a guilty verdict: 1. That it happened March 9, 2. In Idaho 3. That Aaron von Ehlinger was the person involved 4. That he penetrated her mouth with his penis and her vagina with his finger and 5. That she resisted and her resistance was overcome by force or violence or coercion - basically that this was not a consensual encounter. The whole case pretty much hinges on this last one.
11:34 a.m. - She is telling them to rely on their reason and common sense in this case.
11:32 a.m. - "The evidence shows and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that these charges are true," she said. Von Ehlinger wielded his power to "great devastation" of Jane Doe," she tells the jury.
11:25 a.m. - Reardon also reminds jurors that they can't consider anything Jane Doe said on the stand before she left mid-testimony. "You should treat that incident as if she never came into the court," he says.
11:24 a.m. - "It is your duty to decide what the facts are and apply the law to those facts," Reardon says. Statements by the attorneys are not evidence, he reminds them.
11:22 a.m. - Jury is back in. Reardon tells the jurors they've heard all the evidence in the case. He is going over jury instructions.
11:22 a.m. - Reardon: Some things are going to be said in closing that may provoke a reaction. "It is extremely important that there be no reaction from members of the gallery," he tells us. No saying anything, making faces, nodding, or making gestures.
11:11 a.m. - Reardon: "I appreciate there is conflict about the evidence, but there hasn't been a great deal of evidence." He says they can have 40 minutes, but don't go longer than that.
11:10 a.m. - Taking a recess. We'll go into closing arguments when we come back. Farley asks for longer than the 30-minute closing statement cap, saying she expects a lengthy argument due to the evidence in the case.
11:06 a.m. - Von Ehlinger stepping down, goes back to the defense table. Defense rests.
11:05 a.m. - Under questioning, von Ehlinger said Jane Doe never said he was hurting her or that she didn't want to, and he never pinned her down.
11:04 a.m. - Cox up on redirect. He's asking if Jane Doe "appeared to be an immature 19-year-old." Von Ehlinger said she seemed "quite mature."
11:02 a.m. - Farley is asking if a woman can physically resist if a larger man is on top of her, pinning her arms. Von Ehlinger says that's not what happened.
10:58 a.m. - "She also told you she didn't want to do it," Farley says. "No," von Ehlinger says.
10:57 a.m. - It lasted about 15 seconds, he said. "She made the decision to stop and I didn't prevent her from doing that."
10:55 a.m. - NOTE: The graphic sexual details of the testimony will not be included here in this blog. A full account can be found here.
10:55 a.m. - Farley is asking if Jane Doe consented to that. "She just did it," he replies, saying he did not grab her head or force her.
10:53 a.m. - Von Ehlinger says he asked "do you want to?" before Jane Doe gave him oral sex.
10:52 a.m. - Farley is asking about the order in which von Ehlinger took his clothes off/hung stuff up/put things away. She says this version is different that one of the lawyer letters that says "they willingly removed each other's clothing."
10:49 a.m. - Von Ehlinger says he verbally invited Jane Doe into his bedroom and she replied "sure."
10:48 a.m. - Farley asking about his statement that he couldn't have carried Jane Doe. She's much smaller, right? she asks. Von Ehlinger says she weighs 143 pounds. "That's a lot of weight, I'm not in the greatest shape of my life," he said. Says he injured his back during his deployment.
10:45 a.m. - Farley is asking about von Ehlinger's previous lawyers writing the letters on his behalf. She also asked what he has reviewed before today. Police reports, medical reports, statements, those letters from his lawyers, he says.
10:43 a.m. - Farley is asking why von Ehlinger borrowed his roommate's BMW for the date instead of driving his pickup. Cox objects, says it's not relevant. Reardon sustains the objection.
10:41 a.m. - Farley is asking whether Rep. Holtzclaw told him to watch how he was acting with subordinates. Von Ehlinger said Holtzclaw didn't use the word "subordinate," but did tell him to "be careful with some of these people who work in the Statehouse."
10:37 a.m. - He's saying Jane Doe was not a subordinate to him. Is an intern or volunteer or page higher in the hierarchy than a lawmaker? Or lower? Farley asks. Lower, he says.
10:35 a.m. - She's asking about him giving an intern his personal cell phone. "Can we settle this intern/volunteer thing?" he asks. Judge tells him to answer the question.
10:32 a.m. - They took a brief break, waiting for the lawyers to come back.
10:23 a.m. - Same with the second, he says.
10:23 a.m. - Von Ehlinger says he reviewed and authorized the letter to the ethics committee first, and that it was later made public. The statements in the letter were ones he agreed to, he said.
10:20 a.m. - I can't tell if that is all the intern vs. volunteer thing or something more. Cox says that just because a lawyer wrote a letter for someone doesn't mean the client fully reviewed and signed off on everything.
10:19 a.m. - Von Ehlinger didn't write either, but they were written by former attorneys on his behalf, Farley says. She says there are inconsistencies between his statements in those letters and what he is saying in front of the jury today.
10:18 a.m. - They let the jury out. Reardon says Farley gave him two letters - one written to the head of the legislative ethics committee and another to Det. Iverson of Boise Police. They refer to Jane Doe as an intern, the judge says, asks Farley where she is going with this.
10:14 a.m. - Court is in recess for a few minutes.
10:13 a.m. -Just before this, Farley was asking von Ehlinger if he had previously referred to Jane Doe as an intern (he says no) and whether he/his lawyers had written that she was an intern in letters. Cox objected. Seems like that's what they are hashing out now in conference with Reardon.
10:10 a.m. - Farley asks if von Ehlinger knew Jane Doe was 19 before their date. Yes, he says. She asks if she knew Jane Doe was an intern. He argues that she was a volunteer, not an intern.
10:08 a.m. - Farley is going over his duties as a lawmaker - voting on laws, writing legislation, arguing for or against a bill. You must speak well, and make a persuasive argument, she says. Yes, von Ehlinger says.
10:07 a.m. - Farley asks von Ehlinger if he "won by default," referring to his seat as a representative. He says that's a matter of opinion. She points out that his opponent in the race died.
10:03 a.m. - He testifies he learned physical fighting techniques in the Army.
10:02 a.m. - Farley (prosecutor) up now for cross examination. Von Ehlinger says he is 6'1" and 205 or 210 pounds.
10:00 a.m. - He drove her back to her car, and they kissed goodnight before she left, he said. Jane Doe never physically resisted during the sexual encounter, and he never forced or threatened her, he said. "She never once gave me any indication that she did not want to participate in this."
9:56 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said he did not try to have sex with her after that. He said he did not kneel on her, pinning her down. "Did she ever tell you no?" Cox asks. "She never told me no," he said.
9:55 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said they switched positions so he was on top of her. He said she told him she was not on birth control, had not shaved, and that "tonight is probably not a good night to have sex."
9:52 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said things became more passionate. He described in graphic detail what he says happened, including Jane Doe performing oral sex on him "completely willingly."
9:51 a.m. - NOTE: The graphic sexual details of the testimony will not be included here in this blog. A full account can be found here.
9:50 a.m. - Jane Doe "not once" indicated she did not want to participate, he said.
9:49 a.m. - "These were passionate kissing and making out. It became more passionate and hot and heavy," von Ehlinger said, clarifying they were both essentially feeling each other up over their clothes, then under their clothes/underwear.
9:48 a.m. - Jane Doe had taken her shoes off but was otherwise fully dressed, von Ehlinger said. "How short was the skirt?" Cox asks. Prosecution objects.
9:46 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said that he started to take off his clothes - boots, cufflinks, tie clip, tie etc. He says he put things away/hung them up as he was doing it, he said. He sat on the bed in his underwear and they continued to make out, he said.
9:43 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said he asked if she wanted to move to the bedroom and Jane Doe agreed. Cox asked if he picked her up. "Absolutely not, I don't even think I could," he said.
9:42 a.m. - They started making out for about ten minutes. "We French kissed, we all know what that is," he said.
9:39 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said Jane Doe never indicated she didn't want to go into his apartment. Inside, von Ehlinger said he took off his suit jacket. He said he was not carrying a gun, and does so "very rarely." He did have a gun in his closet, but he didn't show it to Jane Doe, he says.
9:37 a.m. - Von Ehlinger parked in a handicap spot, he says, and invited Jane Doe up to the second-floor apartment.
9:34 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said they had dinner, but neither drank alcohol. They were there for more than three hours, according to von Ehlinger. He paid the bill at 9:50 p.m.
9:32 a.m. - Von Ehlinger said they planned to meet outside the Statehouse that day. Before picking up Jane Doe, he walked back to his apartment to borrow his roommate's car. The two went to Barbacoa, arriving at around 6:30 p.m.
9:29 a.m. - "We made a plan to go to dinner together," he says. The date was set for March 9.
9:26 a.m. - Von Ehlinger says he wasn't hitting on her. He testifies that Jane Doe did not work for him and her office was on another floor. Cox starts to ask if there was a power differential, gets cut off with an objection, which Reardon upholds.
9:22 a.m. - Said they said hello or talked in passing after that. At one point, von Ehinger gave Jane Doe some cookies that had been given to him by a lobbyist. He gave her his cell number in January after inviting her into his office to see his artwork.
9:18 a.m. - "Members don't have any sort of direct interaction with pages" - but might have an intern or
9:16 a.m. - Von Ehlinger came to the Statehouse for the 2020 special session, then came back for the 2021 session in January. He rented a room in an apartment in downtown Boise.
9:15 a.m. - Von Ehlinger ultimately came back to Idaho, ran for office, was elected as a representative for District 6.
9:14 a.m. - Von Ehlinger says he spent his childhood in Orofino and in Whitefish, Montana, then joined the Army for three years. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, then went to college in Alabama.
9:12 a.m. - The jury is in. Von Ehlinger is being sworn in now.
9:10 a.m. - Reardon says he won't admit them now, but says he will consider it later if Cox can lay foundation that it's relevant for context. But if it's admitted, it has to be all the texts in the chain, Reardon says - not just the ones Cox wants.
9:06 a.m. - Det. Joseph earlier read over these texts (not out loud) on the stand, testified he got them from Jane Doe. Cox says that counts as foundation.
8:59 a.m. - Reardon says is not going to make a blanket ruling about conversations that might be hearsay, but tells defense and von Ehlinger not to bring up Jane Doe's partial testimony/leaving the stand yesterday. Cox agrees.
8:58 a.m. - Farley wants an order from the judge to keep Cox from asking questions about anything Jane Doe said after the encounter, says that would get into hearsay territory.
8:54 a.m. - We're back. Reardon is telling von Ehlinger he "has the absolute right not to testify" if that is what he chooses. If he doesn't want to, the jury will be instructed not to take that as an inference of guilt.
8:48 a.m. - Cox asks for a five-minute break to decide whether to put von Ehlinger on the stand. If he does, he said yesterday, that will be the only witness for the defense.
8:48 a.m. - Reardon sides with the prosecution. The case will continue.
8:47 a.m. - Farley: "The defendant did not give her the ability to resist because he did use force or violence against her."
8:46 a.m. - Farley (prosecutor) said there is plenty of evidence for a jury to make a determination on his guilt. She is arguing that they have heard testimony that von Ehlinger pinned Jane Doe down.
8:45 a.m. - Cox (defense) says there is not evidence that Jane Doe resisted the sexual encounter - "no efforts by her at all to stop his penis from going in her mouth."
8:30 a.m. - Court is scheduled to start soon.
Day 2 recap
An intern who says she was sexually assaulted by a state lawmaker during the 2021 legislative session took the stand Wednesday afternoon, only to abruptly leave the courtroom in the middle of her testimony.
"I can't do this," Jane Doe said as she bolted from the room.
The prosecution asked for ten minutes to try and convince the young woman to return, then asked the judge if the hearing could be paused until the next morning, to see if she would be willing to pick up her testimony then.
But as it became clear Jane Doe would not come back, the prosecution rested its case.
Aaron von Ehlinger, 39, is charged with rape and forcible penetration, both felonies.
The 19-year-old intern told police that she had been sexually assaulted by von Ehlinger at his Boise apartment after the pair went out to dinner together the night of March 9, 2021.
Jane Doe told detectives and the nurse who performed her sexual assault exam that the then-lawmaker penetrated her with his finger, pinned her down, forced his penis into her mouth, and masturbated onto her despite Jane Doe physically pulling away, telling him "no," and saying she did not want to continue and that he was hurting her.
On the stand Wednesday, the woman gave monosyllabic answers to Prosecutor Katelyn Farley's questions, staring frequently towards the defense table where von Ehlinger sat and at the exit to the courtroom.
"Focus on me," Farley pleaded at one point.
"I can't, she responded.
Before leaving the room, Jane Doe testified that von Ehlinger had given her cookies and his cell phone number while she was working at the Statehouse, then later asked her on a date. She said she could not remember what restaurant they went to for dinner, but did remember returning to the lawmaker's downtown apartment.
In a low voice, she recounted eating some Oreos inside his unit before von Ehlinger picked her up, carried her to the bedroom, placed her on the bed, and took off her clothes. He climbed on top of her in just his boxers and a T-shirt, she said. The lawmaker tried to put his fingers inside her, she said, but she closed her legs.
Jane Doe stopped talking.
She looked again towards the door.
She rose to her feet, and then she was gone.
Judge Michael Reardon ordered the woman's testimony stricken from the record; von Ehlinger's defense attorney had not gotten a chance to cross-examine her before she left. Reardon told the jurors they could not consider what she had said in their deliberations, and should act as if Jane Doe never entered the courtroom or said a word.
Jane Doe's mother testified for the prosecution earlier that morning, describing a phone call from her daughter on March 11, 2021. Her daughter sounded afraid, and had been crying, she testified.
The mother told her daughter to turn her attacker in, and Jane Doe went to the assistant sergeant-of-arms for the Idaho House, Kim Blackburn, according to testimony.
Blackburn said on the stand that Jane Doe - who she had met as a high school House page the previous year - recounted what had happened and named von Ehlinger as her assailant.
Blackburn took the report directly to Speaker of the House Scott Bedke, she testified. Jane Doe underwent a sexual assault exam at FACES of Hope and spoke to Boise Police detectives the same day.
Von Ehlinger, a Republican from Juliaetta, resigned from his seat in the Idaho House in April 2021 after a legislative ethics committee found that he had committed "conduct unbecoming a representative" in sexually pursuing the intern and several other women who worked at the Capitol building. The rape charges were filed and von Ehlinger was taken into custody in September.
Dr. Laura King, an associate professor of criminal justice at Boise State and expert witness on victims of sexual assault, testified that victims who report their rapes typically come forward more than 24 hours after it happened, with some coming forward weeks, months, or even years later. The majority of sexual assaults go unreported entirely, she said.
King said the trauma of an assault releases a flood of hormones that can spark "tonic immobility" - being frozen, unable to move, speak, or fight back - as well as lead to later issues including depression, dissociation, and PTSD.
She further testified that recounting a sexual assault can lead to trauma responses similar to those experienced in the moment of victimization, with some people shutting down, remembering events out of order, or refusing to answer questions.
"There is no right or wrong way to respond" to a sexual assault, she said.
The trial is expected to start up again Thursday morning with the presentation from the defense. Defense attorney Jon Cox told the judge he may call von Ehlinger himself to the stand, but that in light of Jane Doe's testimony being thrown out, will not call any other witnesses.
Reardon said the case may be handed over to jurors for deliberation as early as Thursday afternoon.
If convicted, von Ehlinger faces up to life in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender.
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