Former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert has been released from federal prison and is now under the supervision of a residential reentry management field office in Chicago, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records.
Following allegations that surfaced from a hush money case that he had abused young boys while a teacher and wrestling coach in Illinois, Hastert was ordered to pay $250,000 to a victims’ fund and serve 15 months in prison.
He did not face sexual abuse charges because the statute of limitation had expired, but pleaded guilty to hiding bank transactions to avoid requirements that showed where the money was going, which led to the discovery of a settlement for $3.5 million to keep a victim quiet.
Hastert served 13 of the 15 months in a Minnesota facility.
The reentry center, or halfway house, gives inmates who are near release assistance in a “safe, structured, supervised environment,” according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
“RRCs help inmates gradually rebuild their ties to the community and facilitate supervising ex-offenders’ activities during this readjustment phase,” the Federal Bureau of Prisons website reads.
Hastert represented Illinois in the House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, and was elected as the House speaker in 1999, replacing former Georgia Rep. Newt Gingrich.