Experts: Lawmaker rape case illustrates survivors' trauma

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — When a legislative intern came forward with rape allegations against an Idaho state lawmaker last year, she was subjected to months of online harassment and abuse.

She later testified about the attack at an ethics hearing, and some of the lawmaker’s supporters filmed her and chased her through the Statehouse.

This week, the young woman took the stand to testify in his criminal trial and became so distraught she fled the courtroom.

Aaron von Ehlinger's rape conviction Friday was a rare victory for prosecutors in a criminal justice system that can be fraught with trauma for sexual assault survivors, experts say.

Only about a third of sexual assaults are reported to police, according to to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, and only about 5% of assaults result in an arrest. Convictions are even rarer, with only about 2.8% of sexual assaults resulting in felony convictions.

Put another way, about 972 of every 1,000 perpetrators of sexual assault will never face a conviction, according to the organization.

“It really means that we are not very good at prosecuting it and that the survivors very rarely get the desired results,” said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College with the City University of New York and an expert in sexual assault prevention and public policy. “We have to really focus on prevention. I think that’s where we’re going to see the largest change.”

Von Ehlinger, a former Republican state lawmaker, was found guilty of rape and faces anywhere from a year to life in prison when he is sentenced this summer. The jury acquitted the 39-year-old on a second count of sexual penetration with a foreign object.

Von Ehlinger maintained during the trial that the two had consensual sex. His attorney Jon Cox...