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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 30 april 2022
Former Idaho lawmaker found guilty of raping intern

By REBECCA BOONE got up, held hands and
Associated Press walked into the bedroom."
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A for- Deliberations stretched for
mer Idaho lawmaker was seven hours until nearly 8
convicted Friday of raping p.m. Thursday before the
a 19-year-old legislative in- jury decided to break for
tern after a dramatic trial the evening. At one point,
in which the young wom- the judge summoned the
an fled the witness stand attorneys to his chambers
during testimony, saying "I because the jury asked a
can't do this." question. No details were
The intern told a State- made public about the
house supervisor that Aar- jury's inquiry.
on von Ehlinger raped her When the allegations be-
at his apartment after the came public — largely
two had dinner at a Boise because of the legislative
restaurant in March 2021. ethics investigation — Doe
He said the sex was con- faced unrelenting harass-
sensual. ment from some of von
At the time, von Ehlinger Ehlinger's supporters. Her
was a state representative name, photo and personal
from Lewiston, but he later Former Idaho state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger testifies on his own behalf during day three of his rape details about her life were
resigned. trial at the Ada County Courthouse, Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Boise, Idaho. repeatedly publicized in
Von Ehlinger, 39, was found Associated Press "doxxing" incidents. One of
guilty Friday of rape. He the people who frequently
was found not guilty of sex- with his attorney, who re- "He tried to put his fingers cause the defense could harassed her was in the
ual penetration with a for- moved items from Von Eh- between my legs and I not cross-examine her. courthouse to attend the
eign object. linger's pockets as he was closed my knees," Doe said. During his testimony Thurs- trial, but law enforcement
Afterward, 4th District handcuffed and remand- At that, she stood up. day, von Ehlinger often banned the man from the
Judge Michael Reardon ed to custody. "I can't do this," she said, spoke in a clear, loud voice floor where where case
told the jury: "This has been The Associated Press gen- quickly walking out of the directly to jurors, saying he was being heard.
an unusual case attended erally does not identify courtroom. and Doe decided to return During closing arguments,
by many unexpected cir- people who say they have The judge gave the prose- to his apartment to "hang Ada County Deputy Pros-
cumstances, but I appreci- been sexually assaulted, cuting attorneys 10 minutes out" after eating at a fancy ecuting Attorney Katelyn
ate your attention ... and and has referred to the to find her to determine if Boise restaurant. Then they Farley told jurors that the
hard work." woman in this case as she would return and re- began making out on the case was about "power in
Sentencing has been "Jane Doe" at her request. sume her testimony. couch, he said. the wrong hands" used to
scheduled for July 28. Doe haltingly described When she did not, the "Things were going well, the "great devastation" of
Von Ehlinger sat calmly as the moments the alleged judge told the jurors they and I asked (Doe) if she Doe. Von Ehlinger had so-
the verdict was read, as assault began, before had to "strike (Doe's testi- would like to move to the cial, political and physical
he has throughout the trial. abruptly leaving the wit- mony) from your minds as bedroom," von Ehlinger power over the petite in-
Von Ehlinger talked quietly ness stand. if it never happened," be- said. "She said 'Sure.' We tern, Farley said.q

First case of human bird flu infection confirmed in Colorado

tion said Thursday evening a case of bird flu was con- rus infections in people from
that the man who tested firmed there on April 19," exposure to birds, or identi-
positive had been in a pre- said Lisa Wiley, a spokes- fication of spread from one
release program and was woman for the Colorado infected person to a close
helping to remove chick- Department of Corrections. contact. The CDC also is
ens from an infected farm. When bird flu was detect- monitoring the bird flu virus
The man, who was under ed at the farm in Montrose for genetic changes, which
age 40, reported fatigue County, the inmates were could indicate the virus is
for a few days but has since asked to help in the pro- adapting to spread more
recovered, state health cess of killing and removing readily from birds to people
and CDC officials said in a the birds. or other mammals.
statement. Agriculture officials have The current strain of bird flu,
The man was isolated and reported an outbreak on the H5N1, has been spread-
is being treated with an an- one Montrose County farm ing among backyard and
tiviral drug. Other people with 58,000 broiler breeder commercial chicken and
involved in the bird remov- chickens. turkey flocks in the U.S.
Turkeys stand in a barn on turkey farm near Manson, Iowa on
Aug. 10, 2015. al operation in Colorado Despite the infection, the since late February. Viruses
Associated Press have tested negative, but CDC considers the threat have been found in U.S.
they are being retested out to the general public to commercial and backyard
By DAVID PITT resulted in the deaths of of an abundance of cau- be low because spread of birds in 29 states and in wild
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A millions of chickens and tion. the virus to people requires birds in 34 states. More than
Colorado prison inmate has turkeys, but federal officials "The inmate was part of close contact with an in- 35 million chickens and tur-
tested positive for bird flu in say they still see little threat a prison work crew com- fected bird. keys have been killed and
the first recent confirmed to the general public. posed of inmates nearing Signals that could raise the removed to avoid spread,
case of a human infected The U.S. Centers for Dis- release which had been public health risk might in- the U.S. Department of Ag-
with the disease that has ease Control and Preven- working at the farm before clude multiple reports of vi- riculture reported.q