South Dakota Senate candidate accused of sexual child grooming gets 10 years

Joel Koskan had originally been offered no penitentiary time by state

Joel Koskan leaves a Pierre courtroom in hand cuffs Tuesday after receiving a 10 year prison sentence. (Austin Goss / Dakota News Now)

A former Republican politico and Senate candidate who allegedly spent years grooming a Native American foster child has been sentenced to a decade of prison time.

Sixth Circuit Judge Margo Northrup issued a 10-year sentence — with no suspended time — to Joel Koskan after the Mellette County man pled guilty to two charges of incest Tuesday morning in a Hughes County courtroom.

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