Dennis Hastert, the former Speaker of the House who was once third in line for the presidency and was instrumental in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, has been sentenced by a federal judge after pleading guilty to a criminal charge of structuring currency transactions to evade reporting requirements. Despite early reports he would not receive a prison sentence, the judge sentenced him to prison after all:
Calling former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert a “serial child molester,” a federal judge has sentenced him to 15 months in prison for trying to skirt banking regulations to conceal hush money payments intended to cover up sex abuse allegations from the time he was a high school wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville decades ago.
The judge also ordered at least two years supervised and Hastert must participate in a sex offender program. Judge Thomas M. Durkin did not pull any punches in his sentencing:
“The defendant is a serial child molester,” said Judge Thomas M. Durkin, of Federal District Court, in a tough rebuke of the former speaker before issuing his sentence. He added, “Nothing is more stunning than having ‘serial child molester’ and ‘Speaker of the House’ in the same sentence.”
Pointing out the vulnerability of Mr. Hastert’s young victims, he said they were damaged for years.
“If there’s a public shaming of the defendant because of the conduct he’s engaged in, so be it,” Judge Durkin said.
One of the victims recently decided to come forward. His brother was a close political ally of Hastert:
In a new twist in the already dramatic case of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a victim known only as “Individual D” in court filings, identified himself in court as Scott Cross, the brother of longtime Illinois GOP House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
"Coach Hastert sexually abused me," he said, describing Hastert telling him he'd give him a massage then touching his genitals, back when Cross was a high school wrestler who looked up to Hastert.
Hastert reluctantly acknowledged the abuse, only after pressing questions from the judge:
During his own testimony, Hastert admitted to sexual abuse, but only after the judge directly asked him to clarify what he meant by "mistreating" athletes.
Hastert also admitted that he did in fact sexually abuse the late Stephen Reinbolt.
When the judge pressed Hastert on whether he had abused Reinbolt, an extended silent pause fell over the courtroom.