Hastert accuser sues for $1.8M

The man whom former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert paid $1.7 million to keep quiet about a decadesold incident in which Hastert allegedly molested him is 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. He had to undergo long-term psychiatric treatment after the sexual abuse, which occurred when he was 14, the lawsuit says.

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 U.S. 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 came 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.

Hastert, 74, pleaded guilty last year to withdrawing money in increments meant to avoid federal reporting requirements, after federal prosecutors concluded that the statutes of limitations had long passed on any of the alleged sex crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Wednesday.

Hastert admitted in his plea that he agreed to pay someone identified only as Individual A $3.5 million to “compensate for and keep confidential” prior misconduct against that person, and he admitted that he actually paid the person $1.7 million.

The lawsuit seeks the additional $1.8 million, casting the verbal arrangement between the two men as a “settlement agreement” that Hastert breached.