Mark Penfield Eichorn, a 27-year-old former teacher’s assistant at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene, Texas, has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. According to prosecutors, Eichorn paid two 12-year-old boys $200 to record explicit content on Snapchat. The boys, from Georgia, were recruited by Eichorn after he contacted them through the social media app.
Eichorn admitted to knowing the boys’ ages and using the Venmo app to transfer the payment. A federal investigator testified that Eichorn identified the victims as “just those two.” The production of child pornography carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.
However, Eichorn faces additional charges, including indecency with a child, which were filed by the Taylor County District Attorney’s Office in June. The charges stem from allegations that Eichorn inappropriately touched a student in January. The school’s head of school, Rebeca McMillon, and a teacher, Kelsey Alexander, were also accused of failing to report the incident to child protective services or law enforcement.
McMillon allegedly told the alleged victim’s parents that “nothing untoward had happened” and that Eichorn was simply helping the child use the bathroom. However, federal prosecutors alleged that Eichorn admitted to inappropriately touching the student. McMillon and Alexander were arrested in July for failure to report child abuse and released on $8,000 bonds each.
If convicted, McMillon and Alexander face up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. Eichorn’s guilty plea comes as a result of a search of his electronic devices, which allegedly revealed multiple images of nude children under the age of 10.
