State legislator Jeff Dotseth 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 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.

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