Prosecutors say another former wrestler as well as the sister of one of Hastert’s student managers will testify at the sentencing hearing about alleged sexual abuse by the ex-speaker when he taught and coached at Yorkville.
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Hastert is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday for the financial crime, and faces up to five years in prison although prosecutors have recommended a maximum of six months. A person identified as “Individual A” in Hastert’s federal indictment a year ago was reportedly among those students, and the new lawsuit makes clear that Doe and that person are the same.
Prosecutors have confirmed that Hastert paid the man about $1.7 million of a $3.5 million agreement before he was confronted by FBI authorities about the suspect withdrawals that were part of an effort to evade federal reporting requirements. Two other former students have made complaints of sexual contact by Hastert, as did a woman who claimed that her deceased brother w, according to Politico.
Hastert paid the plaintiff $1.7 million between 2010 and 2014, and stopped when his bank transactions came under investigation, according to the court document.
The plaintiff, referred to as James Doe, accused Hastert of using his status as a coach and family friend to abuse him at a wrestling camp in IL more than 30 years ago. But dozens of letters have also been sent to the court – by Hastert’s family, former congressmen and other government officials – vouching for Hastert’s character and asking for leniency. “While at the camp, defendant violated the special trust [Doe] placed in [Hastert] by sexually molesting and abusing [Doe] in a motel room occupied by [Doe] and [Hastert] alone”, the complaint says.
Hastert said he wanted to check a groin pull the boy suffered, ordering him onto a bed and telling him to take off his underwear.
Prosecutors have painted a disturbing portrait of Hastert that contrasts with the many letters that described him as fundamentally decent, pointing to accounts of how the then-coach often sat in a recliner chair in the locker room with a direct view of the boys shower.
The amount is the remainder of a $3.5 million settlement over the abuse, said to have been committed three decades ago. He says he’s suffered panic attacks that led to bouts of depression, hospitalization and unemployment.
“Words can not adequately describe my utmost respect for Mr. Hastert (as I have called him Denny) for his sincerity of caring for all people he had represented, the integrity which he showed and his devotion for duty in his actions”, Randall says in his letter.
“They didn’t give us the courtesy of a response”, she said.
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Brown said she couldn’t comment on whether the possibility of Hastert going to prison would have an effect on compensation for her client.
