Former State Sen. Justin Eichorn is scheduled for trial March 30 on federal charges of soliciting an underage prostitute following his arrest last March.
Setting the trial date comes after a federal judge again denied Eichorn’s request to dismiss the case on claims of selective and vindictive prosecution.
Both the defense and prosecution took issue with an opinion from U.S. Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins, which allowed the defense team to know the true age of the officer posing an underage girl but not her identity. Elkins did not rule on the admissibility of the evidence at trial.
She also upheld evidence collected by law enforcement during the Bloomington sting operation, the legality of Eichorn’s arrest and denied the efforts to dismiss the case.
In and opinion and order this week, U.S. District Judge Tostrud agreed with the magistrate judge’s opinion uniformly.
Prosecutors would have to provide the actual age of the officer, but her identity and status as possible witness was dismissed. Tostrud wrote that the undercover wasn’t an active participant and there “is no indication she would be able to provide material testimony.”
Tostrud also concluded the arrest of Eichorn was legal, making the collection of evidence from his truck also within the proper operations of the officers.
Citing text messages exchange between Eichorn and undercover law enforcement over multiple days, and other evidence, Tostrud said a reasonable person could conclude “that Mr. Eichorn had attempted
to hire or had agreed to hire an underage person for sex acts in violation of Minnesota law.”
On the selective and vindictive prosecution claims, the judge said Elkins correctly concluded that political prominence was not an impermissible motive in prosescution and that Eichorn “has not shown the Government charged him based on an impermissible motive.”
Eichorn, 41, was one of 15 people arrested in a sting operation last March in Bloomington. He was serving in the Minnesota Legislature at the time and resigned from his seat days later.
Republican Keri Heintzman won an April special election in District 6 to replace him.
