An attorney for Aaron von Ehlinger, a Republican who resigned late last month, released a letter to the media that included the young woman's real name.
BOISE, Idaho — The harassment began soon after a report by a 19-year-old intern, who alleged an Idaho lawmaker raped her, became public.
“I can take criticism. I can take people laying out their opinion on me,” the intern told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday evening. “But this, it’s just overwhelming.” . And data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that as many as one-fifth of sexual violence survivors who chose not to report their crimes to police cited the fear of retaliation as a primary reason.
“You know that photo everyone is posting? I’m 12 years old in that photo. I’m not even a teenager in that photo, and they’re sharing it calling me nasty,” Doe said. “But the truth cannot be altered.” “I got fixated on his curtains because they were bright red — I named them ‘American red’ in my head, because it was bright like the stripes in the flag,” she said. “I just stared at it ... I will never forget how disgusting I felt.”
Rep. Priscilla Giddings, a Republican from the tiny community of White Bird, shared the link with Doe’s name and photo in a newsletter to constituents and said the allegations were nothing more than a “liberal smear job.” “The secretaries let me know that Giddings had done that and they were showing me the article,” Doe said, “and my life is crashing before my eyes.”
Being called to testify publicly at the ethics hearing compounded the pain. She’d already testified in private, only to be stopped when she began the difficult process of describing the alleged rape by a committee member who said it might make both Doe and the committee uncomfortable.Doe was shielded from public view during the hearing, and the committee warned everyone her identity should stay private.
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Idaho intern reported rape, faced 'overwhelming' harassmentBOISE, Idaho (AP) — The harassment began soon after a report by a 19-year-old intern, who alleged an Idaho lawmaker raped her, became public. One state representative sought a copy of the police report and made inquiries into how the young woman herself could be referred for criminal charges for reporting the alleged rape. Another shared links to a far-right blog post that included the intern’s name, photo and personal details about her life with thousands of people in a newsletter and on social media. Members of a far-right, anti-government activist group tried to follow and harass the young woman after she was called to testify in a legislative public ethics hearing. “I can take criticism. I can take people laying out their opinion on me,” the intern told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday evening. “But this, it’s just overwhelming.”
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