U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker ruled Thursday in Abilene’s federal court that Mark Penfield Eichorn would be subject to detention in a federal facility prior to his trial in connection with a charge of production of child pornography.

Eichorn stands accused of one count of production of child pornography.

According to allegations in the federal indictment filed June 5, Eichorn enticed and coerced two juveniles under 18 to produce child pornography.

The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 22, 2023, in which Eichorn allegedly paid and directed two boys, 12 and 13, to produce a sexually explicit video, according to court proceedings.

If convicted, Eichorn faces 15-30 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, along with possible restitution to victims or the community. He also faces a possibility of supervised release of five years to life.

One of his defense attorneys, Christopher Solis, entered Eichorn’s plea of not guilty Thursday in federal court.

Eichorn was then taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service Thursday at the close of his detention hearing.

Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

‘A right to know’

The lengthy set of hearings on Thursday took over four hours to complete. Federal prosecutor Whitney Ohlhausen represented the interests of the United States versus Eichorn.

Before the detention hearing could begin, however, Solis filed a motion to seal the courtroom.

“I suspect you want to have the hearing in a closed set?” Parker asked Solis, who then began to explain his position.

Solis noted that he was afraid an open courtroom could “influence the public consciousness before he even goes to trial.”

Parker, however, was having none of it.

“Why should I sanitize what the public knows?” the judge said.

Parker went on to say that he was aware that it could be uncomfortable or embarrassing.

“That’s not a reason to close the courtroom,” he said.

Ohlhausen expanded on the point.

“Potential victims have a right to be present,” she said. “The public has a right to know what’s going on in their community.”

‘Just those two?’

Federal homeland security investigator Michael Baker took the stand Thursday to detail the charge and the interview that Eichorn had with the Abilene Police Department.

Baker testified that Eichorn confessed to the charge in the interview and admitted to having two boys in Georgia make a sexually explicit video after he paid them $200 dollars via an online payment app.

Eichorn went so far as to admit that he knew they were minors, Baker testified.

Baker also testified that in 2019, there was an incident with Abilene Christian University police in which Eichorn admitted to them that he was “sexually attracted to children.”

In the interview with APD, Eichorn also admitted to inappropriately touching a child at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene while he was employed as a preschool teacher there, Baker testified.

While there had apparently not been an outcry of abuse at the school, Ohlhausen pointed out that some of the victims in the allegations “were as young as 4 years old when interviewed.”

Baker then stressed the importance of one of Eichorn’s responses to APD detectives.

The detectives asked him about the two juvenile boys in Georgia, Baker testified, and Eichorn responded with, “Just those two?”

Ohlhausen noted there is another victim Eichorn spoke about who has yet to be found.

‘Has been diagnosed’

When it was defense attorney Russel Lorfing’s turn to present his case to the court, he called an expert witness, Dr. Scott Nelson, who had apparently treated Eichorn as his psychologist for over three years.

Nelson testified that Eichorn “has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.”

Nelson testified that he was “worried about his physical and emotional safety” if Eichorn were to be incarcerated.

When Ohlhausen asked Nelson about Eichorn’s sexual desire for children, however, Nelson said “that has never come up” in his treatment of Eichorn.

Parker’s commanding presence in the courtroom was felt when he brought up serious questions for Nelson and pointed out his lack of knowledge about the charges or accusations of child pornography.

In an exchange that lasted several minutes, the judge scolded Nelson for his unawareness.

“You formed your opinions without knowing what he is accused of doing?” Parker asked Nelson.

‘This was deliberate’

When it was federal prosecutor Ohlhausen’s turn for closing arguments, she told the judge that Eichorn allegedly was “coercing other children across state lines to produce child pornography.”

“This was deliberate,” she said. “No conditions of release could guarantee the safety of children across the United States.”

Ohlhausen added, “The weight of the evidence against him is insurmountable,” and “this definitely is a hands-on predator.”

Defense attorney Lorfing then noted that while Eichorn should be held accountable, he has no criminal history other than a dismissed parking ticket.

Lorfing said that the defense was “open to anything” but prison. They would accept GPS monitoring, house arrest or an in-treatment facility instead of detention.

The judge, however, had strong words.

Parker said Eichorn “appears to be high functioning” and educated, given his master’s degree. Parker noted he did not find Nelson credible as a witness.

“The facts of this case are very disturbing,” the judge said.

Parker ruled that Eichorn would be incarcerated until the trial begins.

A woman in the audience said, “Yes, thank you, Jesus,” as a U.S. marshal placed Eichorn in handcuffs.

More on his court appearance Former Abilene teacher in federal court Thursday for child pornography charge

Eichorn’s arrest Abilene man charged with child pornography, police looking for tips

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Judge rules in case of Abilene ex-teacher accused of child pornography