Alleged victim’s sister says Hastert ‘damaged’ student
Former U.S. House speaker’s days as wrestling coach under scrutiny
WASHINGTON — A woman says the FBI interviewed her last month about her allegations that her brother was sexually abused while in high school by Dennis Hastert, the wrestling coach who would become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, one of the most powerful positions in Washington.
Hastert — who during his term as speaker from 1999 to 2007 stood second in line to the U.S. presidency — was charged last week in a federal indictment that alleges he agreed to pay $3.5 million US to someone from Yorkville, the Illinois town where he taught and coached high school wrestling, so the person would stay quiet about “prior misconduct.”
Jolene Burdge told The Associated Press on Thursday the FBI interviewed her in mid-May about Hastert. She said her brother told her before he died in 1995 that his first homosexual contact was with Hastert and that it lasted through all of his high school years.
Burdge would not disclose her brother’s name but said he graduated from Yorkville High School in 1971 and that Hastert was his teacher and wrestling coach.
Hastert was a teacher and coach in Yorkville from 1965 to 1981, according to the indictment.
In an interview aired Friday on ABC’s Good Morning America, Burdge identified her brother as Stephen Reinboldt, and said Hastert had been a father figure to him in high school. But she also said she believed Hastert had caused him irreparable harm.
“He damaged Steve, I think, more than any of us will ever know,” she told the show.
The Associated Press could not independently verify her allegations.
A person familiar with the allegations in the indictment has said that the payments mentioned in the document were intended to conceal claims that the Illinois Republican sexually molested someone decades ago. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Hastert has not been charged with sexual abuse. But Burdge’s story indicates there could be more victims beyond the “Individual A” named in the indictment.
Hastert did not respond to a message left on his cellphone early Friday. He has not been in public since the indictment was announced. Emails and phone messages sent to his son, Ethan Hastert, also went unanswered.