A South Dakota State Republican Senate has now been arrested and officially charged with felony child abuse in connection to sickening allegations that he groomed, sexually assaulted, and ultimately raped a young member of his family over the course of several years, starting when the girl was only 12 years old, according to disturbing new reporting from the New York Post.
A probable cause statement obtained, released, and reported on by Mitchell Republic states that Joel Koskan began grooming and abusing the young girl in 2014. That abuse would then carry on for 6 years in total. In addition to the felony child abuse charges lodged against him, Koskan could also face additional charges of rape, sexual contact with a child under the age of 16, and aggravated incest-related child.
The New York Post reports:
The Senate hopeful began grooming the child when she was 12 years old by having her sit on his lap, kissing her and giving long hugs, according to the court docs. The child thought the behavior was “‘normal things’ that families were supposed to do,” an investigator wrote in the document. She realized what Koskan was doing to her was abusive at a summer camp she attended at age 14 when counselors spoke about inappropriate physical contact with adults.”
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According to reports, Koskan went so far as to install a secret hidden camera in the underage family member’s bedroom, which allowed him to visually access the young girl from an app on his phone at virtually all times. Koskan’s alleged victim claims that he regularly touched her in inappropriate ways, and began to force sexual intercourse on her by the time she was 17 years old.
Chairman of the party, Randy Seiler, released a statement on the matter, reading:
These allegations concerning Joel Koskan are deeply disturbing, and he should immediately end his campaign. While he will still appear on the ballot, the choice for the voters of District 26 couldn’t be clearer. Partisan politics aside, Joel Koskan should not be voting in the legislature on issues that affect South Dakota kids — or any issues at all.”
Read the disturbing full report from the New York Post here.
Featured image via screen capture
