Mark Penfield Eichorn, a 28-year-old former preschool teacher in Abilene, was sentenced today to the statutory maximum of 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix also ordered Eichorn to pay $66,087.50 in restitution.
Eichorn was indicted in June 2024 and subsequently pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of Production of Child Pornography. He admitted in court that he paid two young boys, aged 12 and 13, to record videos of themselves engaging in sexual acts with each other.
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“Stopping horrendous acts against children, such as those in this case, is a core mission of this Office,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham. “We hope that the maximum punishment in this case serves as a message to other child predators, and that the victims and their families find some measure of comfort knowing that this abuser will be off the streets for a very long time.”
Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas echoed this sentiment, saying, “This defendant made the depraved decision to exploit children, not only failing to meet any standard of human decency but choosing to victimize them through the production of sexually explicit materials. I’m grateful for the collaborative effort between our law enforcement partners who assisted in this investigation, ensuring Mr. Eichorn will spend the next 30 years behind bars, unable to harm an innocent child again.”
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According to court documents, Eichorn confessed to struggling with desires to sexually assault children since 2019. Disturbingly, he continued to work with children during this period. He also admitted to participating in child pornography trading groups on various online platforms, including Kik and Telegram, and confessed to possessing and trading prepubescent child pornography. This included a video depicting a child between the ages of 10 and 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
At the time of his arrest, Eichorn was employed as a teacher at a local private school. The investigation revealed that Eichorn initiated contact with one of the child victims and offered him $100 per week to be his “Sugar Daddy.” He later admitted to paying both victims hundreds of dollars to produce the illicit videos.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Hendrix emphasized that the maximum sentence was warranted for the “protection of the public.” In a powerful statement, Judge Hendrix said, “I have to make a lot of difficult decisions. This is not one of them.”
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