Dennis Hastert Out Of Prison, Will Have To Undergo Sex-Offender Treatment

CHICAGO, IL — Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was released from a Minnesota federal prison Tuesday morning and is now in a "residential re-entry program" in Chicago, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He will also have to undergo intensive, court-ordered sex offender treatment. Hastert was sentenced to 15 months for lying to the FBI and evading federal rules governing bank transactions after paying a sex abuse accuser "hush money" to keep the allegations quiet.

At his April 2016 sentencing, Hastert admitted to sexually abusing boys during his time as a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School, prompting Judge Thomas Durkin to call him a "serial child molester."

In May, another accuser came forward, filing a civil lawsuit alleging that Hastert, now 75, molested him in 1973 or 1974. The accuser says he was just 9 or 10 years old when he was sexually assaulted by Hastert in a school restroom. Another accuser is suing Hastert for the remainder of the "hush money" he says the former Speaker agreed to pay.

Hastert's sentence officially ends in August but he was eligible to be released earlier to home confinement or a halfway house. ABC7's I-Team learned of his release early Tuesday. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Yorkville — or your town. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Haster is required to undergo sex-offender treatment that could alsoinclude lie-detector tests aimed at revealing whether he's telling the truth about how many victims he's sexually abused. He will also have to submit to any "psychological and physiological testing" recommended by his probation officer, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Related:

• New Hastert Accuser To Remain Anonymous: Judge
  
• Hastert To Victim: 'How Much?'
• Dennis Hastert Loses State Lawmaker Pension
• Accuser Responds To Dennis Hastert's Demand For 'Hush Money' Repayment
• Hastert to Alleged Abuse Victim: 'Pay Me'

Photo: Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert leaves the Dirksen Federal Court House in a wheelchair after his sentencing on April 27, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Joshua Lott/Getty Images News/Getty Images