USA05 October, 20262 min read
Dennis Hastert Dies At 84 After Illinois Hush Money Conviction And Child Abuse Sentencing
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Hastert, former U.S. House Speaker, died at 84 from natural causes, coroner says. Convicted in 2016 for bank fraud linked to hush-money payments to conceal sex-abuse case.
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Hastert Dies at 84
Dennis Hastert, the former U.S. House speaker from Illinois who served from 1999 until 2007, died at age 84 after the Kendall County Coroner's Office confirmed he died over the weekend from natural causes.
Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell said Hastert died Saturday of natural causes at his home while receiving hospice care, and ABC7 Chicago reported that he was confirmed dead at 84.
Hastert had pleaded guilty and served time in prison for banking violations tied to hush money payments, and a judge called him a "serial child molester" during sentencing in the hush money case.
Hastert was released after serving 13 months in prison, and the sentencing judge ordered him to participate in a sex offender program.
The case centered on allegations that Hastert sexually abused teenagers while coaching wrestling at a suburban Chicago high school, and prosecutors said the abuse was beyond the statute of limitations.
Sentencing and Statements
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin called Hastert a "serial child molester" and sentenced him to 15 months in prison, and CBS News reported that Durkin also sentenced him to a $250,000 fine and ordered him to participate in a sex offender program.
Zachary Farden, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said after Hastert was sentenced that there are "no winners in any of this" and that Hastert's "legend and legacy are gone."
Hastert admitted to abusing teenage boys and paying the hush money, and ABC7 Chicago reported that he pleaded guilty to paying millions in hush money to a man he had sexually assaulted as a teenager.
Scott Cross, a former high school wrestling team member who claimed Hastert sexually abused him, said, "Hastert inflicted unbelievable pain on the lives of the youth he was entrusted to care for," during the sentencing coverage.
Hastert said in a 1999 interview that "you can get your head someplace where it shouldn't be," and he added, "But you come back home, and you're home."
Legacy and Aftermath
Hastert's congressional legacy included being the longest-serving Republican House speaker, and ABC7 Eyewitness News said he was the longest-serving Republican House speaker and the highest-ranking elected U.S. official ordered to prison.
Hastert's political career included helping pass then-President George W. Bush's legislative agenda, and ABC7 Chicago said he pushed through Bush's domestic and foreign policies, including the Iraq War.
The sentencing and conviction followed allegations that Hastert evaded banking regulations as part of a plan to pay hush money to conceal unspecified "prior misconduct," and prosecutors said the alleged misconduct involved the sexual abuse of teenage boys on his wrestling team in Yorkville.
The sources also described Hastert's rule in the House, with ABC7 Chicago noting the "Hastert Rule" and CBS News describing it as requiring that the House vote only on measures with a majority of support from the majority party.
Hastert's death came as the Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell confirmed he died at his home over the weekend, and CBS News said no further details were given.