ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Fellow Republicans called Tuesday on a Minnesota state senator to resign after police in suburban Bloomington arrested him for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution.
GOP Sen. Justin Eichorn, 40, of Grand Rapids, was arrested Monday after detectives communicated with a man who was led to believe that he was talking to a 16-year-old girl, the department said in a news release. A detective arranged to meet with him, and he was arrested outside his vehicle without incident.
He remained jailed in Bloomington on Tuesday afternoon pending his transfer to the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Deputy Chief Kim Clauson said. She said she did not know if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf or if he had spoken with an investigator. Jail staff would not take a message for him.
The department said a felony charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution was pending, but the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it had not yet received the case.
A message left at Eichorn’s Senate office was not immediately returned. According to his Senate profile, he’s married with four children. He lists his profession as entrepreneur and was first elected in 2016. His chair on an environment commmittee sat empty during a Tuesday hearing.
Senate Republicans as a group called on Eichorn to step down, as did House Republicans.
“We are shocked by these reports, and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation,” his Senate GOP colleagues said in a statement. “Justin has a difficult road ahead, and he needs to focus on his family.”
Senate Democratic leaders stopped short of calling for him to quit. They have also stood up for Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, who was arrested last spring on a felony charge for allegedly burglarizing her estranged stepmother’s home. Senate Democratic leaders have said she deserves to have the legal process play out first.
“The felony allegation against Senator Eichorn is deeply disturbing, and raises serious questions that will need to be answered by the court, as well as his caucus and constituents,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, said in a statement that echoed what she has said about Mitchell.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges leveled sharp criticism of Eichorn.
“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,” Hodges said in a statement. “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.”
