Before the Senate could vote on whether to expel him, a Republican state senator from Minnesota who was implicated in a sting operation resigned under fire Thursday after being accused of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Grand Rapids resident Justin Eichorn sent Governor Tim Walz a brief email announcing his resignation, stating: “I must focus on personal matters at this time.” Serving in the Minnesota Senate has been a privilege.
Since his arrest in Bloomington on Monday in connection with an undercover operation aimed at preventing juvenile commercial sex, Eichorn, 40, has been incarcerated.
Magistrate Judge Shannon Elkins ordered Eichorn to be sent to a halfway home with GPS tracking as soon as a spot becomes available at his initial court appearance on Thursday.
She mandated that he only have limited, supervised access to computers and the internet and that he not interact alone with children. No plea was entered by him. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday.
Aaron Morrison, the federal defender who only represented Eichorn at the brief hearing on Thursday, informed the court that Eichorn was still in the process of finding a private attorney. Morrison later refused to answer any questions.
According to the charging documents, investigators had posted many advertisements online offering sex for money. For several days, Eichorn texted an undercover police officer posing as a 17-year-old girl until they set up a meeting, at which point he was taken into custody.
Following his arrest, police confiscated $129 in cash, two cellphones, and a condom.
The attempted compulsion and seduction of a minor to engage in prostitution is a federal offense. According to prosecutors, six additional defendants were taken into custody during the sting.