Right now, he’s the state senator accused of sexual harassment. Before the accusations were made public, Sen. Dan Schoen was known as a police officer, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and state senator who championed women’s rights.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party senator from St. Paul Park has been in the Senate since 2016 and has sponsored two bills regarding sexual offenses.

The first bill expanded the consequences for offenders in sexual assault cases, including requiring sex offenders to serve lifetime conditional release or probation, creating mandatory minimum sentences and more. Schoen was the chief sponsor on that bill.

He also co-sponsored a bill that would increase the predatory offenses penalty and require offenders to register.

In response to a 2016 Pioneer Press candidate questionnaire, Schoen said “continuing work to protect victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse” would be among his top priorities. Other priorities included providing safe drinking water, lowering property taxes and boosting transportation options for senior citizens.

Schoen had similar priorities while a member of the state House of Representatives. From 2012 to 2016, he co-sponsored several more bills to protect victims of sexual misconduct, including the state’s new “revenge porn” law, which penalizes former significant others who share private, nude photos of their exes. Related Articles AP source: Envelope addressed to White House contained ricin

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Some of his other bills would further sentencing guidelines for repeat sex offenders, appropriate money for a sex trafficking investigation and establish affirmative consent in campus sexual assault policies.

Schoen attended the 2017 Women’s March at the Capitol. In response to questions on Facebook about why he was marching, Schoen said:

“The ongoing attempts to take away women’s health care choices, equal pay for equal work as women are making 76 cents compared to the dollar a man makes on average and other measures like wanting to go back to a time when being a woman was a pre-existing medical condition…”

Multiple women have come forward saying Schoen sexually harassed them. There have been calls for his resignation. Schoen said in a statement Wednesday the allegations are “either completely false or have been taken far out of context.”

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MN Gov. Tim Walz calls Friday special session; plans to extend powers Before coming into office, Schoen attended St. John’s University in Collegeville and St. Cloud Technical College and graduated from the Paramedic Program. He graduated from Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota, with a degree in law enforcement.

He began working as a paramedic in Rice Memorial Hospital in 1996, according to his LinkedIn profile, and began working as a police officer and paramedic for Cottage Grove in 2001.

He took a brief, unpaid leave of absence from his police job to work for LeafLine, one of Minnesota’s providers of medical marijuana. He consulted on security matters for the seven months he worked there.

While a police officer, Schoen received both praise and condemnations.