Dennis Hastert Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison Wednesday morning.

The sentence comes 11 months after he was indicted for lying to the FBI and evading federal rules governing bank transactions. Hastert, 74, will also have to undergo two years of supervised release.

Hastert apologized in court for having "mistreated some of my athletes as coach," according to the Chicago Tribune.

"What I did was wrong and I regret it ... I took advantage of them," Hastert said, adding that he sexually abused Individual B, but doesn't remember some of the others.

Judge Thomas Durkin asked Hastert if he admitted to sexually abusing boys.

"Yes," Hastert said.

Durkin referred to Hastert as a "serial child molester."

A date when Hastert is to turn himself in will be decided later. Hastert will also have to pay a $250,000 fine and participate in a sex offender treatment program. Durkin said the prison time was not meant to be a death sentence.

A defense attorney issued a statement saying that Hastert accepts the sentenced imposed and made clear by addressing the court that he takes sole responsibility for the tragic situation and deeply apologizes to those affected.

"He hopes that he can focus on addressing his health issues and on healing the emotional damage that has been inflicted on his family and friends who have shown unwavering support through this trying time," the statement said.

It was revealed in court that one of Hastert’s alleged abuse victims is 53-year-old Scott Cross, previously identified as Individual D. Cross is the brother of Illinois Rep. Tom Cross, according to the Chicago Tribune, and a 1980 graduate of Yorkville High School.

Hastert reportedly told his team of lawyers to get a support letter from Tom Cross, which prompted Scott to testify. Defense attorney Thomas Green said it would have been “inconceivable” to ask Tom for support if Hastert had remembered the abuse of Scott.

Cross choked up as he said he trusted Hastert and was a “key figure in my life, as a coach and a teacher.”

Hastert allegedly groped Cross after giving him a massage in 1979.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Cross never talked about the abuse until the charges were announced.

“As a 17-year-old boy, I was devastated. I tried to figure out why Coach Hastert had singled me out. I felt intense pain, shame and guilt.” Cross said in court, according to the report.

A statement from Cross' family said they are very proud of him for having the courage to relive a painful part of his life.

"We hope his testimony will provide courage and strength to other victims of other cases of abuse to speak out and advocate for themselves," the statement said.

Jolene Burdge, the sister Steve Reinboldt who allegedly told her he had been sexually abused by Hastert, also spoke in court. According to the Chicago Tribune, as she spoke, she turned to Hastert and said “I hope I have been your worst nightmare. Don’t be a coward, Mr. Hastert. Tell the truth. What you did wasn’t misconduct. It was sexual abuse of a minor.”

Green said no one was trying to minimize the emotional trauma, but added that his client’s achievements have been “eclipsed by misconduct done decades ago.”

Hastert withdrew $1.7 million from several banks between 2010 to 2014 and gave the cash to a person identified as “Individual A” by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Hastert took the money out of the banks in amounts less than $10,000 to conceal the transactions from bank regulators and avoid the required “currency transaction reports,” according to the indictment.

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The FBI began investigating initially out of fear that the former speaker was being blackmailed or extorted in some way. They learned Hastert was using the money, more than $1 million, to pay off one of his former students, known only as Individual A, whom he'd sexually abused during his time as a wrestling coach and teacher at Yorkville High School, according to the federal charges. In 2014, Hastert told FBI agents he was being extorted for $3.5 million.

Under investigation, however, his story fell apart and the sordid details of his abusive past emerged.

“The actions at the core of this case took place not on the defendant’s national stage, but in his private one-on-one encounters in an empty locker room and a motel room with minors, that violated the special trust between those young boys and their coach," prosecutors wrote. “Defendant told Individual A to lie down on the bed and take off his underwear.

"Defendant (then) began massaging Individual A’s groin area. It became clear to Individual A that defendant was not touching him in a therapeutic manner to address a wrestling injury, but was touching him in a sexually inappropriate way.”

The victim then slept overnight with Hastert in the hotel.

Other alleged victims have also accused of Hastert of sexually abusing them.

In a prosecution filing, a victim identified as Individual B said Hastert performed a sex act on him in the Yorkville High School boys locker room. He was 14.

An Individual C told federal investigators how Hastert, during a therapeutic sports massage, rubbed his genitals.

Another, Scott Cross, who was formerly known as Individual D, said Hastert compelled him to engage in sex when he was 17. He also said Hastert watched boys shower while sitting in a "Lazyboy-type" chair near the shower stalls.

Due to the statute of limitations, Hastert was not charged with sex crimes related to his behavior despite the detailed information prosecutors provided in court papers.

In a statement released April 9, Hastert’s lawyer Thomas Green said his client acknowledges that as a young man he committed transgressions for which he is profoundly sorry.

"He earnestly apologizes to his former students, family, friends, previous constituents and all others affected by the harm his actions have caused," Green said.

Hastert pleaded guilty on the structuring charges in October, but his sentencing had been delayed and rescheduled because he was hospitalized for severe illness. His lawyer says he almost died.

With prison looming ahead of him, Hastert will still have to face a lawsuit that's been brought forth by Individual A seeking the rest of the hush money he and Hastert had agreed upon. The lawsuit claims Hastert still owes $1.8 million.