Ex-Sen. Justin Eichorn seeks dismissal of sex solicitation charge, alleging selective prosecution

Alleging selective prosecution, former state Sen. Justin Eichorn has filed for dismissal of a federal charge alleging sexual solicitation of a minor during an undercover sting in Bloomington.

The 41-year-old Eichorn, of Grand Rapids, was arrested in a parking lot on March 17 and had with him two cellphones, a condom and about $130 in cash, according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court. He resigned from the state Senate three days later.

Eichorn was initially charged in Hennepin County District Court with soliciting prostitution from a minor over the age of 16, along with 13 others snared in the sting operation. However, his case and one other were moved to federal court, where any potential sentence would mean a mandatory 10 years in prison instead of the likelihood of probation and maybe jail time.

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

Playing off her comments, Eichorn’s attorneys argued in their motion Friday, “This indictment should be dismissed because the government’s decision to charge Mr. Eichorn in the present indictment was vindictively motivated by personal animus against Mr. Eichorn because the state prosecution would not permit the government to procure a sentence it desired and deemed appropriate, and [the government] selectively prosecuted him because he exercised his First Amendment right to hold public office.”

His attorneys highlighted in their filing the wide differences in the potential sentences in state and federal court should there be a conviction, despite “the same core factual allegations [that] the government is now attempting to regurgitate” from the state case.

Soon after Eichorn was charged in federal court, longtime Twin Cities defense attorney Paul Rogosheske told the Minnesota Star Tribune said that on the face of it, “it’s kind of goofy” for the case to be charged federally. “In my opinion, the federal government should not be involved in these kinds of cases,” he said.

A response from the U.S. Attorney’s Office to Eichorn’s dismissal motion has yet to be filed.

“We’ll respond to the motion in writing and let that do the on-the-record talking for us,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda Williams, acting as her office’s spokeswoman.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 8.

Whether charged at the state or federal level, 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.

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

Eichorn was elected to the state Senate in 2016. His district includes parts of Itasca, Crow Wing and Cass counties.

One week after Eichorn was arrested and charged, his wife filed for a divorce in Itasca County. The couple has four children, according to Justin Eichorn’s legislative biography.