Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert sexually abused at least four boys when he worked as a wrestling coach decades ago, federal prosecutors said Friday, weeks before his sentencing for a banking violation.
Hastert has pleaded guilty to a financial violation, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27.
His guilty plea in October involved structuring money transactions to evade reporting where the funds were going.
Investigators said the transactions involved $3.5 million he paid in hush money to one of his accusers.
In new documents released Friday, prosecutors said Hastert abused several boys when he was a wrestling coach in Yorkville, Illinois.
Prosecutors: Accuser was paid off
The accusations came to light after investigators found out he was paying one former student to stay quiet about sexual abuse allegations, prosecutors allege.
The student was among at least three others who said he abused them, the documents allege. One was age 14 at the time.
The allegations date back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, according to the prosecutors’ court filing.
Hastert will not face sexual abuse charges because the statutes of limitation have expired, prosecutors said.
Massages, sex acts alleged
All those who accused Hastert of sexual abuse were wrestlers at the high school, according to the documents.
In two separate cases, Hastert massaged one boy each in a locker room and performed unspecified sexual acts on them, prosecutors allege.
In another instance, Hastert allegedly massaged a boy’s groin area and singled him out to stay in his hotel room during a wrestling camp.
Another accuser said Hastert touched him inappropriately in a “very weird” way while he was a student, prosecutors said.
“The actions at the core of this case took place not on the defendant’s national public 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 said.
During his time at Yorkville High School, Hastert was a beloved coach. He was named Illinois Coach of the Year after leading the wrestling team to the state championship.
Apology
CNN has reached out to his attorneys, but has not heard back.
Before details of the sexual abuse allegations came to light, Hastert apologized this week for an unspecified misconduct.
“Mr. Hastert is deeply sorry and apologizes for his misconduct that occurred decades ago and the resulting harm he caused to others,” his attorneys wrote. “He will stand before the court having deteriorated both physically and emotionally, undoubtedly in part due to public shaming and humiliation of an unprecedented degree.”
He was hospitalized with various ailments late last year, including a stroke and sepsis. His attorneys have asked for probation instead of jail time in the financial case.
Hastert was the longest-running Republican speaker of the House, and served between 1999-2007.
