Aaron von Ehlinger.Photo: Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty

Former Idaho state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, who was convicted of rape in April, appeared at the Ada County Courthouse on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, for a hearing on his motion to retry or acquit his case.

Former Rep.Aaron von Ehlingeris set to spend up to two decades behind bars for rape.

Judge Michael Reardon also ordered the defendant to register as a sex offender and placed him under a no-contact order, which is set to last through 2055, theAssociated Pressreports.

Reardon told von Ehlinger during the hearing Wednesday in Ada County District Court, “You have a pattern of explaining, excusing, deflecting and blaming others for the circumstances you find yourself in,” according to the AP.

He reportedly added, “You see yourself as a victim and you see yourself as a hero, and frankly I don’t see you as either one of those things.”

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Aaron von Ehlinger.Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty

On April 28, 2021, then Republican state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger listens to testimony to the Idaho Ethics and House Policy Committee at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise. Von Ehlinger was before the committee to face sexual misconduct allegations with a 19-year-old volunteer staff member, a charge which lead to his conviction of rape on Friday, April 29, 2022.

Von Ehlinger resigned from the Idaho state House of Representatives in April 2021, after theIdaho Statesmanreported a state House ethics committee announced unanimous plans to expel him from office.

“This is not a picture of a monster. This is a military man who provided service to our country,” Cox reportedly said of his client, who served in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Afghanistan.

Aaron von Ehlinger.Brian Myrick/AP/Shutterstock

Former Idaho state Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger looks on as the defense asks questions of a witness during the second day of testimony in his rape trial at the Ada County Courthouse, in Boise, Idaho Idaho Lawmaker Rape Trial, Boise, United States - 27 Apr 2022

“I hope he rots in pieces behind those cold metal bars,” she added.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.

source: people.com