Big Week for MAGA Influencers & Republicans Accused of Child Sexual Abuse & Soliciting Minors

Despite the right’s obsession with smearing LGBTQ people as “groomers,” not only is child sexual abuse overwhelmingly perpetrated by straight, cis men, but sometimes, it’s perpetrated by prominent conservatives.

By Kylie Cheung | March 21, 2025 | 3:50pm

Politics

Big Week for MAGA Influencers & Republicans Accused of Child Sexual Abuse & Soliciting Minors

If I had a nickel for each time a right-wing influencer or Trumpian political figure got busted for child sexual abuse, this week alone, I would have raked in a whopping $0.15. Which is a lot of money when you factor in how the right has oriented its entire brand of politics around framing Democrats and LGBTQ people as “groomers” and child sexual abusers.

The irony, of course, is that not only is sexual abuse overwhelmingly perpetrated by straight, cis men, but often enough, it’s perpetrated by prominent conservatives. This week, a GOP state senator in Minnesota was forced to resign after soliciting sex from a minor; a popular MAGA influencer in California was taken into custody on charges of sexually assaulting a minor and producing child sexual abuse material; and Donald Trump’s former spiritual adviser and the former pastor of a Texas megachurch surrendered to Oklahoma authorities, also on charges of child sexual abuse. (As a little reminder: Trump himself is a legally recognized sexual abuser and serially accused rapist.)

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All of this took place between Monday and Thursday. Of course, you wouldn’t glean any of it from the viral far-right accounts like LibsOfTikTok who built their platforms peddling baseless lies and manipulative content claiming everyday queer people are predators, doxxing them, and inciting harassment and violent threats against them.

On Thursday, now-former Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn (R) tendered his resignation letter to the legislature and Gov. Tim Walz (D) after facing a federal criminal charge accusing him of soliciting sex from someone he thought was 17—who turned out to be an undercover cop. Eichorn stepped down after his entire caucus threatened to expel him with Democratic support on Wednesday. In a joint statement, the state Senate DFL called the details of the allegations against Eichorn “horrifying.”

“The safety of the interns who come here to work and learn, the safety and security of the staff who put their days in here were incompatible with the predatory nature of Mr. Eichorn’s behavior as reported in the criminal complaint,” Sen. Erin Murphy (D) told CBS News.

Minnesota State Senator Justin Eichorn (R) has officially submitted his resignation — effective immediately.

Eichorn was arrested during an undercover sting operation targeting commercial sex involving juveniles.

Arrested and charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution, the alleged…

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— Stephanie Kennedy (@wordswithsteph.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM

In an email to Gov. Walz, Eichorn wrote, “I must focus on personal matters at this time. It has been an honor to serve in the Minnesota Senate.” Hmm, I wonder why he didn’t specify the “personal matters” in question! If convicted, Eichorn faces the possibility of life in federal prison.

Earlier this week, Robert Preston Morris, the former spiritual adviser to Trump and pastor of the Texas megachurch called Gateway, surrendered to authorities on child sexual abuse charges. The charges first came to light in 2024, when a woman accused Morris of sexually abusing her over the course of four years in the 1980s, starting when she was 12 years old. As recently as 2020, Morris hosted major fundraisers and campaign events for Trump; he served as a member of Trump’s spiritual advisory committee and Trump’s evangelical executive advisory board during his first presidential term. He also worked to mobilize evangelicals to support Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. An attorney for Morris told the Guardian he plans to enter a not-guilty plea on Morris’ behalf.

“After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,” the woman accusing Morris said in a statement this week. “Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.”

And then, there’s Ricci Wynne, known as the influencer Raw Ricci on social media, who was taken into custody this week and indicted on Tuesday on federal charges of producing child sex abuse material. Wynne is also accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old, per the San Francisco Standard, and local authorities say they’ve found evidence that Wynne has been facilitating an illegal sex work operation across multiple U.S. cities. Wynne was first arrested in November and pleaded not guilty this week.

If Wynne looks familiar to you, that could be from any one of his six appearances on Fox News over the last few years, as recently as 2023, per HuffPost. Wynne rose to fame as a “tough-on-crime” influencer who filmed and harassed homeless people across San Francisco. As it turns out, he was the one—not homeless people—committing crime.

What a week it’s been. I can’t wait to watch Republicans respond to their own politicians and members of their own base allegedly committing acts of child sexual abuse by… ah, yes. Doubling down on trying to ban gender-affirming care for trans kids.