Former State Senator Justin Eichorn (R- Grand Rapids) will be allowed to stay at a halfway house as he awaits his trial for allegedly soliciting sex from minor after a judge initially ruled he would remain behind bars.
The detention hearing in federal court lasted several hours, with attorneys arguing whether Eichorn should be granted pre-trial release after new allegations showed that he tried to obstruct the FBI's investigation from his jail cell by having his wife retrieve his laptop computer from his apartment.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, where Eichorn was arrested along with others in an underage prostitution sting, told WCCO's Chad Hartman that Eichorn's wife should also be held accountable for her actions.
"You know, someone's gotten arrested and you're gonna go over to the house and destroy evidence? That's obstruction," Hodges explained.
Eichorn remains in federal custody in the Sherburne County Jail until a bed at a halfway house opens up. He will also have a GPS monitor at all times.
Hodges also tells WCCO that the punishment for these alleged crimes is something that needs to be looked at, explaining another of the perpatrators they arrested has been down this road before.
"There was another guy that we had arrested in our first operation last year," Hodges says. "He wanted to come have sex with a 15-year-old boy. We arrested him. He went to Florida, did the same thing, got out, came back here, and then the beginning of March he was successful and actually raped a 15-year-old boy."
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 which could mean a much stronger sentance because he's facing federal charges of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. That means a mandatory 10-year prison sentence.
Because the meet-ups with the sting operation involved the internet, there is a violation of federal law involved. Only Eichorn is being charged with that, at this time.
Most of the others would likely avoid prison sentences for their actions if they don't face federal charges. Those could still come, but Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick did say in a statement that there is "no tolerance for public officials who violate federal law."