South Dakota Senate candidate accused of child abuse

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A man running for a seat in the South Dakota Senate is facing criminal charges.

Court documents filed against 44-year old Joel Koskan show the Wood, South Dakota, man is charged with child abuse. The Republican is running for Senate in District 26.

Court documents in the case detail years of alleged sexual abuse of a child.

The South Dakota Democratic Party is calling for Koskan to end his campaign.

Koskan and Representative Shawn Bordeaux, a Mission Democrat, are seeking the Senate seat in District 26. The seat is now held by Senator Troy Heinert, a Mission Democrat who is term-limited and couldn’t seek re-election.

Koskan lost to Heinert in the 2020 election, 4,416-3,941, and in the 2018 election, 3,896-3,450. His father, John Koskan, a Wood Republican, served 16 years in the Legislature.