Why Justin Eichorn is facing a harsher potential sentence than 8 others charged in sex sting

The potential consequences are far more severe for one of the nine men charged this week with soliciting prostitution following an undercover sting operation by Bloomington police.

That man is 40-year-old Justin Eichorn of Grand Rapids, a Republican who resigned from the Minnesota Senate on Thursday, three days after his arrest in a Bloomington parking lot and as his fellow senators were poised to expel him.

Eichorn and the others charged this week in Hennepin County District Court face the same felony count of soliciting prostitution from a minor over the age of 16.

But Eichorn is so far alone in being charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, rather than state authorities. That means a conviction on the federal count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor would bring a mandatory 10-year prison sentence.

The men prosecuted by Hennepin County are likely to be spared prison entirely, according to several veteran Twin Cities defense attorneys not associated with these cases. The likeliest outcome if the men are found guilty, the attorneys said, is probation under state sentencing guidelines.

The cases charged in Hennepin County could also be eligible for federal charges, because the use of the internet by the defendants constitutes interstate commerce. That’s what got Eichorn in federal court.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined Thursday to directly answer whether Eichorn was being charged in federal court because his public profile rises above the other men arrested in the sting, which involved Bloomington investigators posing as underage girls online.

However, a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick announcing the federal prosecution volunteered that her office “has no tolerance for public officials who violate federal law — particularly those laws meant to protect children.”

Eichorn was elected to the state Senate in 2016. His district includes parts of Itasca, Crow Wing and Cass counties. His Senate biography identified him as married with four children.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says it’s standard practice to step aside when federal prosecutors claim a local case. A spokesman for County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an email that “we cannot speak to the [U.S. Attorney’s Office] decision to take one and not others.”

Defense attorney Paul Rogosheske said that on the face of it, “it’s kind of goofy” for Eichorn’s case to be charged federally. “In my opinion, the federal government should not be involved in these kinds of cases,” he said.

The state and federal charges both allege Eichorn was familiar with the jargon of shopping for sex. He texted to the undercover officers the acronyms “Qv or hhr,” meaning a “quick visit” or a half-hour of sex. He also used a slang term for not using a condom.

Also, the charges noted, Eichorn attempted a tactic to reassure himself that he wasn’t chatting with a cop: He asked for a photo of his correspondent wearing just a bra and underwear while holding up two fingers.

Defense attorney Paul Applebaum also reviewed the charges against Eichorn and the others. “I think that the U.S. Attorney’s motivation for assuming the prosecution against Mr. Eichorn has a powerful deterrent value that a federal case against a state senator generates,” Applebaum said.

The other men “are not noteworthy,” he said, and it’s likely they won’t get prison time. But Eichorn, Applebaum said, is unlikely to escape time behind bars.

“If the FBI agent’s affidavit is accurate, I don’t see a lot of moves that Mr. Eichorn can make to beat the case or even get around the 10-year mandatory minimum,” he said.

Fred Bruno said he and his fellow defense attorneys “beg, borrow or steal to keep” state cases from migrating to federal court.

Bruno said federal prosecutors get to “cherry pick” what cases they take or leave to the state.

“My experience with federal courts is if they have a list of 100 people who did something, they look at the poster child,” Bruno said.

Eichorn’s best shot at serving less than 10 years is if prosecutors fail to prove he committed “coercion and enticement” while communicating with the undercover officer, Bruno added.

Despite the disparate consequences, Eichorn’s fellow arrestees are accused of behaving in nearly identical ways.

The men visited a sexually oriented website, texted someone they thought was a 17-year-old girl, and arranged a meetup where they expected to pay for sex. Instead, they were met by police, jailed and charged in state court.

Two of the men were tagged with additional felony counts in connection with their arrests, and those alleged offenses could lead to harsher sentences. One briefly fled from police and was captured in Edina. The other had cocaine in his vehicle, the complaint read.

Police said Friday the sting snared 14 suspects in all.

“I have long advocated for stronger penalties for these crimes, and this case is yet another example of why tougher laws are necessary,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said in response to the federal charges against Eichorn. “Our state Legislature must take this issue seriously —protecting children should never be up for debate.”