A 19-year-old intern for the Idaho legislature has accused 38-year-old Republican legislator Aaron von Ehlinger of Lewiston of raping her after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant, even after colleagues in the Statehouse warned the representative to stop flirting with female staffers at the capitol, the Associated Press reports.

Numerous women informed their supervisors that von Ehlinger had made inappropriate comments and come-ons to them, with some saying that being around von Ehlinger made them uncomfortable.  The Boise police are investigating the rape allegation, while the legislature’s ethics committee is looking into ongoing complaints about von Ehlinger’s behavior.

The ethics committee reportedly has text messages, letters and transcriptions of interviews the committee did with von Ehlinger, his colleagues, other Statehouse staffers and the young intern who made the rape report, according to records reviewed by the Associated Press.

One legislative staffer told her supervisor that von Ehlinger had made an unwanted pass at her, inviting her out to dinner, making her feel uncomfortable.  The staffer ultimately sent an email, obtained by the ethics committee, saying she was married and was uncomfortable being alone with him.

A lobbyist testified that she noticed von Ehlinger following her around and outside the Statehouse.  She said she feared that von Ehlinger had once rifled through her purse to find her home address.

Idaho Speaker of the House Scott Bedke and House Majority Caucus Chair Megan Blanksma, both Republicans, reportedly had been advised of von Ehlinger’s actions prior to the rape allegation.  Blanksma told an intermediary to instruct von Ehlinger to correct his behavior around women, a suggestion von Ehlinger reportedly dismissed.

“I hate to attribute, you know, any particular attitude to him but, it was, he was defensive when he came upstairs and I don’t know that he appreciated the effort or the spirit in which the suggestion was made,” Blanksma said. “I felt that he was pushing back on me even suggesting that path forward.”