The man whom former U.S. House speaker J. Dennis Hastert paid $1.7 million to keep quiet about a decades-old incident in which Hastert allegedly molested him is now suing the Illinois Republican for an additional $1.8 million he claims he is owed.
In the lawsuit, filed anonymously in circuit court in Kendall County, Ill., on Monday, the man alleges that he suffered severe panic attacks and bouts of depression and had to undergo long-term psychiatric treatment after the sexual abuse, which occurred when he was 14. He alleges that when he met with Hastert decades later to confront him about what he had done, Hastert agreed to pay him $3.5 million to compensate for the “pain, suffering, and harm” he had caused.
The man’s abuse allegations — and Hastert’s agreement to pay him — ultimately led to the criminal investigation of Hastert. According to federal authorities, the former House speaker, who became a lobbyist after leaving politics, began withdrawing money to pay the man in amounts that drew the notice of bank officials. When Hastert was asked about the withdrawals, he started taking money out in smaller increments so as not to trigger federal reporting requirements.
That itself is a crime, and it piqued the interest of the FBI. The bureau’s investigators would come to find that Hastert, who worked as a high school teacher and wrestling coach in Illinois early in his career, had abused or inappropriately touched as many as five teenagers in his care decades ago.
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