A Minnesota state senator was arrested Monday and charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Justin Eichorn, 40, thought he was talking to a 17-year-old girl when he setup a meeting in Bloomington on Monday, but he actually set up the meeting with an undercover detective, Bloomington Police said in a statement.
He’s been charged with soliciting an under 18-year-old to practice prostitution.
“As a 40-year-old man, if you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone’s child, you can expect that we are going to lock you up,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said. “I have always advocated stiffer penalties for these types of offenses. … We need our state legislature to take this case and this type of conduct more seriously.”
Eichorn has his legislative sights on other matters, however. On Monday, he and four other legislators introduced a bill be designate “Trump Derangement Syndrome” a mental illness under state law, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
In his legislative biography, Eichorn says he is married with four children and was first elected to his post in 2016. After his arrest, state Senate Republicans and Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth called on him to resign.
“We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation … Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family,” Senate Republicans said in a statement.
Demuth agreed that the allegations warrant a resignation.
“While he is entitled to due process, we must hold legislators to a higher standard,” she said in a statement.
