Photo: Taylor County Jail
A Texas preschool teacher is facing 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges. Prosecutors said that Mark Penfield Eichorn, 27, contacted a 13-year-old boy on social media and paid him $200 to make a 90-second pornographic video with another boy, who was 12.
The investigation began when the parents of one of the boys, who were both from Georgia, noticed he had more money in his bank account than he should.
When Eichorn was taken into custody, he confessed to paying the boys and admitted to other crimes, including inappropriately touching a child and trading child pornography on social media.
"At a detention hearing shortly after he was indicted, federal law enforcement testified that when asked about the children in Georgia, Mr. Eichorn responded, 'Just those two?'" the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said in a press release.
Eichorn reached a deal with federal prosecutors, and on Tuesday (October 9), he pleaded to the production of child pornography.
Two other employees at the school where Eichorn worked as a teacher's assistant were also arrested for ignoring a complaint that he inappropriately touched a student back in January.
According to the New York Post, the child's parents told teacher Kelsey Alexander about the abuse, and she reported it to the head of the school, Rebeca McMillon.
McMillon spoke to Eichorn about the incident but determined nothing happened and dismissed the complaint.
McMillon and Alexander were both arrested and charged with two counts of failure to make a request for a child abuse report.