Minnesota Rep. Jeff Dotseth charged in 2008 with abuse of then-wife, court filings show

A state legislator from northeastern Minnesota was arrested in 2008 after his then-wife called police to report he’d assaulted her, one episode in what she and her son would describe in civil court filings as more than a decade of abuse.

Immediately following the arrest, a judge ordered Jeff Dotseth, now a first-term Republican legislator from Kettle River, to cease contact with Penny Dotseth, according to criminal court documents not previously reported. Under the yearlong order for protection, Dotseth was also barred from using or possessing firearms and allowed only supervised visits with their daughter.

Prosecutors charged Dotseth with misdemeanor domestic assault, according to the court records. Nine months after he was arrested, Dotseth pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.

Dotseth was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but it was stayed on the condition he remain law-abiding for a year, which he did. He was ordered to complete a compassion workshop and comply with the order for protection until it expired, court documents show.

“Jeff claims to be a non-violent person. This is most definitely not true,” Penny Dotseth said in a 2008 sworn affidavit she filed along with a petition for divorce. Her affidavit described repeated instances of alleged abuse. She’s since remarried and now goes by Penny Kowal.

Jeff Dotseth, who is also now remarried, said in a written statement that he “went through an extremely difficult divorce and child custody dispute.”

“There were hurtful allegations made against me that I deny, including a sworn affidavit I filed under oath under penalty of perjury,” he said. “Ultimately the charge was dismissed and I pled guilty to disorderly conduct. I now have a cordial relationship with my ex-wife, and have worked to put this difficult chapter of my life behind me.”

Dotseth started living with Kowal and her son in the early 1990s, according to affidavits in the divorce proceedings. Reached by phone, Kowal declined to comment further.

In her affidavit, Kowal said Dotseth threw her to the floor, kicked and choked her in 1993 or 1994 over a dispute related to their trucking business. In 1994, she said, Dotseth slammed her against a wall and pinned her with all his weight, choking her and prompting her to spit in his face in response. And in 1998, she said Dotseth slapped her, she slapped him back, and then he forced her head between his legs and squeezed tightly.

“I remember crying and trying to get him off but could not,” she said in her affidavit.

Kowal said in her affidavit that her son tried to intervene on multiple occasions and was hurt by Dotseth himself. Her son was a child at the time of the alleged abuse and wrote his own affidavit in 2008 when he was 25 years old. He declined to comment when reached by phone, citing fear for his safety. The Minnesota Star Tribune is not naming him because he was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse.

“I have been punched, slapped, choked, thrown, hit with things, and kicked by [Dotseth],” Kowal’s son wrote in his sworn affidavit. “After his violent outbursts we would always go back to living life, forgive and move on. It was never long before he would find something to get mad about.”

Dotseth denied allegations of domestic abuse in his affidavit and accused his then-wife of “hitting me, pulling my hair and screaming at me” in an incident in 2007. That year, Kowal filed for divorce.

“I believe that [Kowal] has anger management issues — she has spit in my face, thrown objects at me, frequently hit me and pulled my hair,” Dotseth wrote in his affidavit.

Five months before Dotseth pleaded guilty to the lesser disorderly conduct charge, Assistant Sherburne County Attorney Jennifer Holl gave Dotseth and his attorney notice that the state intended to introduce additional evidence of similar conduct at trial: “Specifically the incident that occurred in January 2008, where Defendant grabbed Penny Dotseth’s face, slapped her and threatened to rip her head off,” Holl wrote. “Specifically the incident that occurred February 14, 2008, where Defendant held his fist in Penny Dotseth’s face and told her he wished she were dead.”

Holl also provided notice that the state intended to introduce during trial the 911 call audio and transcript, statements made by Kowal and the daughter she shared with Dotseth, and redacted squad video and audio.

Dotseth is seeking a second term in his Minnesota House district, which covers cities such as Barnum and Moose Lake and stretches north to Cloquet. The case, which wasn’t reported during Dotseth’s first campaign, underscores the challenges in vetting the background of candidates running in 201 legislative districts across the state. Earlier this year, Democrats denounced and rescinded the endorsement of state House candidate Judd Hoff, who has been accused of stalking and harassing Republican Rep. Mary Franson.

DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman said in a statement that the abuse allegations against Dotseth are “deeply troubling. Violence of any kind has no place in our society.”

House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, issued a statement Thursday saying “domestic violence is an absolute red line for me — it’s never acceptable under any circumstances.”

However, Demuth said, “This case was resolved through the legal process more than 15 years ago, concluding with no charge or conviction for domestic assault. I spoke with Rep. Dotseth earlier today, and he reiterated the contents of what was in his affidavit denying the allegations that were made during the divorce proceedings.”

In 2008, in an argument about the divorce, Kowal said in her affidavit that Dotseth told her he hated her and wished she were dead. She accused him of having an affair with an employee and threw his wedding ring out the front door into a snowbank.

The next morning, Dotseth allegedly demanded to know where his ring was, threw Kowal out of bed and dragged her across the house telling her to retrieve it for him, according to Kowal’s affidavit.

She said she feared for her life and for the safety of their daughter. She said her daughter screamed, “Dad, stop. Stop, leave Mom alone.” The Minnesota Star Tribune is not naming their daughter because she was 9 years old at the time of the alleged incident.

Kowal said she ran to the phone and called 911 when Dotseth let go of her. While she was on the phone, she said, Dotseth accused her of setting him up.

State Rep. Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, who now serves with Dotseth in the House, was named in records related to the criminal case. Novotny was a sergeant with the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the 911 call. In a brief interview, Novotny said he was one of two officers who responded to the 2008 domestic assault call. But he said he couldn’t recall specific details.

“It’s been 15, 16 years,” Novotny said. “I didn’t do a report on the case that I can remember.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune attempted to obtain the 911 transcript and witness statements associated with the 2008 domestic assault arrest. The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office purged the records from its files under its data retention policy, according to a records supervisor who said the County Attorney’s Office might still have them. The Sherburne County Attorney’s Office denied the Minnesota Star Tribune’s request for the records, saying the prosecution file isn’t subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

In Dotseth’s affidavit, he described the order of protection issued against him as “baseless and ill-advised” but said he agreed to it to avoid conflict. Under the order, he could only see their daughter under supervision at a visitation center.

The court granted the petition for divorce, according to court records.

In 2021, members of both parties called on former DFL state Rep. John Thompson to resign after past domestic violence allegations surfaced. The allegations against Thompson dated as far back as 2003. Thompson pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct in a case where he allegedly hit his girlfriend in the face in a supermarket parking lot.

Thompson was removed from the DFL caucus but stayed in the Legislature. He was ultimately defeated in a primary election.

Dotseth won his House seat by fewer than 500 votes two years ago and is facing a rematch against attorney Pete Radosevich.

Rochelle Olson contributed to this report.