REGIONAL- Former State Sen. Justin Eichorn pleaded not guilty on Monday to a federal charge of attempting to entice a minor for sex in a brief arraignment hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shannon Elkins.
Eichorn, 40, was arrested in Bloomington on March 17 after allegedly responding to an online prostitution ad posted by an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl. According to the charging document filed in Minnesota U.S. District Court, Eichorn exchanged explicit text messages and arranged to meet the girl for sex in exchange for money.
The Grand Rapids Republican resigned from the Legislature on March 20, three days after his arrest. He had represented District 6 in northeastern Minnesota.
The charge – attempted coercion or enticement of a minor – carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison if convicted. A grand jury returned a felony indictment on April 1. State charges were originally filed but dropped in favor of the federal case with its more stringent penalties.
Eichorn is currently living in a halfway house in Duluth under court-ordered conditions that prohibit any unsupervised contact with minors. During Monday’s hearing, his defense attorneys withdrew a motion they had filed just days earlier requesting a change in those release conditions.
That motion had sought permission for Eichorn to have contact with his four minor children, arguing that the restrictions would impair his ability to maintain relationships with them. Eichorn’s wife filed for divorce within days of his arrest.
Prosecutors did not oppose the request, but no explanation was given for the defense’s decision to withdraw the motion.
Eichorn’s next court hearing is set for May 21.