CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert, the Republican who for eight years presided over the House and was second in the line of succession to the presidency, was sentenced Wednesday to more than a year in prison in a hush-money case that revealed accusations he sexually abused teenagers while coaching high school wrestling. The visibly angry judge repeatedly rebuked the 74-year-old before issuing the 15-month sentence, telling him that his abuse devastated the lives of victims and would probably make it harder than ever for parents to trust other adults with their children. Nothing is more stunning than to have the words 'serial child molester' and 'speaker of the House' in the same sentence. Earlier this month, prosecutors went into graphic detail about the sex-abuse allegations, even describing how Hastert would sit in a recliner in the locker room with a direct view of the showers. Hastert pleaded guilty last fall to violating banking law as he sought to pay $3.5 million to someone referred to in court papers only as Individual A to keep the sex abuse secret. The judge devoted many of his remarks to describing how Hastert lied to FBI agents when they first approached him about the massive cash withdrawals. Hastert told investigators that Individual A was making a bogus claim of sex abuse to extort him for money. While the maximum sentence available for the banking violation was five years in prison, federal guidelines recommended probation to six months behind bars. In addition to the prison term, the judge also ordered Hastert to undergo sex-offender treatment, spend two years on supervised release from prison and pay a $250,000 fine to a crime victims' fund. Moments before the former wrestler spoke, a woman who says her brother was sexually abused by Hastert told the courtroom that her sibling felt "betrayed, ashamed and embarrassed." Defense attorneys were seeking probation on grounds that Hastert had already paid a high price in disgrace.
Comment on Former speaker Hastert sentenced to more than year in prison
By MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle
Sat, 04/30/2016 - 12:29am
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