A now-fired Texas preschool staffer has admitted paying two boys — one just 12 — $200 to film a sexually explicit video for him.
The investigation into Mark Penfield Eichorn, 27, started when the parents of a 13-year-old boy in Georgia noticed that their son suddenly had more money in his bank account than he should have, according to court documents obtained by KTAB.
The young teen and a 12-year-old friend then told investigators how the sick school staffer had contacted them on Snapchat — then sent $200 through Venmo in exchange for them filming a 90-second child porn video for him, federal prosecutors said.
Confronted, the preschool teacher’s assistant admitted knowing how young the boys were — while suggesting that there were others, prosecutors said.
“Just those two?” he asked when told he was being investigated over the boys in Georgia.
Police then searched Eichorn’s electronics and found nude images of children — some who looked under the age of 10, according to the court documents.
He also admitted to inappropriately touching a child, according to his indictment.
Eichorn pleaded guilty Tuesday to production of child pornography — and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for that charge, prosecutors said.
He still faces additional federal charges for indecency with a child.
The pedophile was working as an assistant teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene at the time — where the principal and a teacher have also been arrested, accused of ignoring a complaint about Eichorn inappropriately touching a pupil in January, according to KTXS-12.
The child’s mom said she reported the abuse to teacher Kelsey Alexander, 34, who reported it to head of school Rebeca McMillon, 55 — neither of whom reported it to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or law enforcement, as required under Texas law, the outlet said.
Instead, McMillon just chatted to Eichorn about the complaint — and then dismissed it, telling the child’s parents that “nothing untoward had happened” because the teaching assistant reckoned he was only helping the child with their belt in their bathroom.
Eichorn was only fired after he was arrested in May.
Alexander nor McMillon were then arrested in July and charged with two counts of failure to make a request for a child abuse report.
Both were released after posting bonds totaling $8,000.