Justin Eichorn, the former Minnesota state senator caught in a Bloomington police prostitution sting in March 2025, has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison. When he gets out, he'll serve 5 years of supervised release and will have to register as a sex offender.
U.S. District Chief Judge Eric Tostrud handed down the sentence Sept. 23. It falls within the advisory guideline range of 15 to 21 months. Prosecutors had asked for 5 years and the defense wanted time served. Tostrud called Eichorn's conduct "egregious" and said it was deliberate. Eichorn messaged the officer over several days and specifically asked for nude photos. Tostrud said that showed Eichorn was "intent on engaging in sex act with a minor girl." Eichorn also has to pay $10,000 into a federal fund for victims of child sexual abuse materials. He'll get credit for the roughly 5 months he has already spent in custody.
"Good fortune is the only reason why a child was not victimized," Assistant U.S. Attorney David Classen said. Eichorn apologized in court: "I was selfishly thinking of my own desires and ignoring the harm that I could have done." During his supervised release, he can't have contact with anyone under 18 except his 4 children, a niece and a nephew.
Here's how the case got here. Eichorn is 42 and represented Senate District 6 for more than 8 years. In March 2025 he answered an online ad that turned out to be part of a Bloomington police operation, with an officer posing as a 17-year-old girl. He messaged the officer for several days, asked for nude photos and agreed to meet in Bloomington to pay for sex. Police arrested him when he showed up. In his vehicle, officers found about $130 in cash, a condom and 2 cellphones. He resigned from the Senate shortly after.
Federal prosecutors first charged him with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, which carries a 10-year mandatory minimum. In May, under a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, attempted possession of child sexual abuse materials. He wasn't the only one caught in the operation, either. Bloomington police arrested more than a dozen men in the same March 2025 sting. Eichorn lived about 3 hours north of here, but his case made Bloomington's undercover stings statewide news.
