Federal charges for second man caught up in sting that netted former Sen. Justin Eichorn

Federal prosecutors on Monday announced they are charging a 31-year-old convicted sex offender with soliciting prostitution from a Bloomington police detective posing as a 17-year-old girl, as part of the same sting that nabbed former state Sen. Justin Eichorn.

Marwan Taweeleh of Shakopee was charged last week in U.S. District Court with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor as a registered sex offender.

Last month, Eichorn had his charge of soliciting a minor for sex moved from state to federal court. Eichorn, 40, a Republican from Grand Rapids who promptly resigned from the Senate, remains free on bond while assigned to a halfway house in Duluth.

Taweeleh made his initial appearance in federal court and remains in custody pending a May 23 hearing in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

The state charges alleged that Taweeleh on March 18 asked in a text message how old the decoy was, and she replied 17. At first he said, “I’m sorry, no can do,” but he later agreed to meet.

Taweeleh drove to a Bloomington apartment building and was confronted by police, the complaint continued. He drove off in his pickup, but he was arrested later in an Edina parking ramp, the complaint read.

Seven others caught in the sting remain charged in Hennepin County District Court.

A conviction for either Eichorn or Taweeleh on the federal count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor would bring a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. In state court, according to several defense attorneys, such a conviction would likely result in probation.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prioritize the prosecution of sexual predators — particularly the prosecution of repeat sex offenders like Taweeleh,” acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in a statement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not explicitly said why Eichorn, who is not a convicted sex offender, was targeted for federal prosecution. However, a statement from Kirkpatrick last month volunteered that her office “has no tolerance for public officials who violate federal law — particularly those laws meant to protect children.”

Taweeleh was convicted in Scott County District Court in March 2021 of solicitation of a child to engage in sexual conduct. Those charges stemmed from his assault of a 15-year-old girl in a wooded ditch in Shakopee whom he had met on social media in July 2018.

He was sentenced to a three-year term. His sentence required him to register with the state as a predatory offender.