Bloomington, Indiana

Former Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn, a Republican from Grand Rapids, was sentenced in federal court to 16 months in prison and five years of supervised release stemming from a 2025 child sex sting operation. Chief Judge Eric C. Tostrud's sentence fell between prosecutors' request for five years and the defense's request for time served. Eichorn, 42, was arrested in March 2025 after a Bloomington police sting in which an undercover officer posed online as a 17-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty in May to attempted possession of child sexual abuse material, a reduced charge from the original attempted enticement of a minor count.

Prosecutors argued Eichorn believed he was meeting a minor and posed an ongoing danger, while his defense cited the personal toll he had already faced, including job loss and divorce. Eichorn resigned from the Senate in March 2025 ahead of a planned expulsion vote. Addressing the court, he apologized to his family, colleagues, and constituents, saying he had "no one to blame but myself."