In case you have convinced yourself that a state senator would never be a pedophile, there is a reminder today that former Speaker of the U.S. House, Dennis Hastert was sentenced to prison in 2016 for illegal money transfers designed to hide hush money payments to one of Hastert’s sex abuse victims. The disgraced “power broker” was not charged with any sex crimes because the statute of limitations had passed, but the judge in the case branded him a “serial child molester” and ordered him to enroll in a sex-offender treatment program during sentencing.
These illegally structured bank withdrawals were for $1.7 million of a verbally promised $3.5 million to be paid to a man who was sexually assaulted by Hastert when the boy was 14. Hastert, a high school teacher–and of course, wrestling coach, testified in a deposition that the incident merely involved him helping the boy with a groin injury. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-dennis-hastert-lawsuit-trial-ruling-met-20210910-bztmwluscjdp7ccrtmbib7imdu-story.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Breaking News&utm_content=861631293765#nws=true.
Hastert stopped making the promised payments after he got busted for the banking crimes and was sentenced to 15 months. An Illinois judge ruled today that the man who sued Hastert in for the balance of the $3.5 million would be named at trial instead of referred to as “James Doe.” Id. Hastert’s attorney argued that because this case is a breach of contract case, it would be “unfair” not to name the plaintiff by his real name. Pretty bogus argument, but whatever. I think the jury will end up understanding exactly what went on here.
This POS argued in 2017 that his victim should have to return the $1.7 million because he violated their little secrecy agreement. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dennis-hastert-wants-sex-abuse-accuser-return-hush-money-n709116. Hey, Dennis, the feds came knocking because of your fucked up banking methods, which you thought you could get away with because you were a legislator. Your victim didn’t exactly have the option of not speaking with them. This man spoke to FBI agents about the arrangement but did not speak publicly about the allegations of abuse. I hope Hastert loses this breach of contract case and has to pay the remaining sum, with interest. Put that federal pension to good use.
Check out this article from the Naperville Sun, where residents of Will County were outraged over “Hassert Boulevard” and demanded the street be renamed rather than honor a pedophile. https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=fe30c15e-6901-4b52-b863-8a746e7b96e4. The problem was, it was not named after Dennis Hastert, but after the Hassert family, who had lived in Will County since 1866. A Hassert descendent handled it very well: “‘My little issue (with name confusion) is nothing compared to being a victim of what happened,’ Hassert said. ‘It’s horrifying.’”
And hey, some places in the Midwest have been known to actually name buildings after pedophile-enablers and nobody raises any stink. As was said before, the majority of the majority knows who Dennis Hastert really is and let’s hope the jury in the breach of contract case figures it out on Day 1 of this trial. https://catherinebroad.blog/2016/04/
Speaker of the [Big] House, set to try to convince the jury he’s still a power broker.