Sex abuse testimony is OKd for Dennis Hastert sentencing

Another man who says he was sexually abused by former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert years ago as well as the sister of another alleged victim could testify at Hastert’s upcoming sentencing on charges he paid hush money to cover up wrongdoing in his past, the Chicago Tribune has learned.

For the first time, prosecutors and lawyers for Hastert revealed in an unannounced hearing Tuesday that the Illinois Republican had been accused of sexual abuse from when he was high school wrestling coach and teacher in Yorkville, Ill., decades ago, according to a transcript of the hearing obtained by the Tribune.

In his plea agreement, Hastert admitted he arranged with a person identified only as Individual A in 2010 to pay a total of $3.5 million to cover up undisclosed misconduct.

In the hearing Tuesday, prosecutors said they recently interviewed another alleged victim, identified only as Individual D, who came forward and is considering whether to testify at Hastert’s sentencing hearing. It was also revealed that the sister of another alleged victim wants to testify, according to the transcript.

Lawyers for Hastert objected to their testimony at Hastert’s sentencing, but U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin said it was relevant and would allow it to be heard.

The judge delayed Hastert’s sentencing until April 27 because Individual D would be on a business trip and unable to attend the sentencing if it went ahead on April 8.

“If Individual D wants to come in and talk about being a victim of sexual abuse, he’s entitled to do so because that informs my decision about the history and characteristics of the defendant,” the transcript quoted Durkin as saying. “It’s that simple.”

Durkin said much the same thing about the sister of another alleged victim.

The sister appears to be Jolene Burdge of Billings, Mont., who said in several media interviews last year that the FBI had interviewed her about Hastert’s alleged sexual abuse of her brother, Stephen Reinboldt, when Reinboldt was a student at Yorkville High School.

Reinboldt died in 1995 of complications of AIDS. Years before his death, his sister said, he told her that his first homosexual contact was with Hastert and that it lasted throughout his high school years. Reinboldt had been a manager of the school wrestling team.

See the most-read stories this hour >>

Shortly after Hastert was charged in May, Burdge told “Good Morning America” that she believed Hastert had caused irreparable harm to her brother.

“He damaged Steve, I think, more than any of us will ever know,” she said.

The hearing on Tuesday was held in open court but was not announced in advance, so no reporters were present. It became known only after Durkin posted an order Wednesday saying prosecutors requested the hearing Tuesday “to discuss witness availability” for the sentencing.

The judge ordered a portion of the transcript of Tuesday’s hearing sealed to keep the identity of Individual D secret.

Tuesday’s hearing marked the second time that has happened in the Hastert case since last week. At a closed-door hearing a week ago, Durkin ordered that a medical expert be appointed to review Hastert’s health records.

Hastert’s medical woes surfaced in the first week of November, days after he pleaded guilty in Chicago to a bank structuring charge stemming from the hush-money payments.

At a court appearance in January, Hastert’s lawyers disclosed that the Illinois Republican had nearly died of a rare blood infection in November and was still recovering from a stroke, leading Durkin to cancel Hastert’s original sentencing date of Feb. 29.

Hastert, 74, was discharged from an undisclosed hospital Jan. 15 and was receiving home care and rehabilitation, including assistance walking, dressing, going to the bathroom and feeding himself, Hastert’s lawyer, John Gallo, told the judge at the time.

The former speaker’s recent health problems are expected to become a key part of his attorneys’ efforts to spare him prison. His plea agreement with prosecutors recommends a sentence ranging from probation to up to six months behind bars — the lowest possible sentence under federal guidelines for anyone convicted of a felony.

“He nearly died that week,” said Gallo, who at the time indicated the prospect of a full recovery was unclear.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

Though the plea agreement and the original indictment in 2015 only hint at the alleged wrongdoing, federal law enforcement sources have told the Tribune that Hastert was paying to cover up the sexual abuse of a student from decades earlier.

The FBI also interviewed a second person who raised similar allegations against Hastert, sources have said.

At the January hearing, federal prosecutors acknowledged for the first time that authorities know of more than one victim stemming from Hastert’s misconduct.

“There are victims in this case that deserve closure,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Steven Block told the judge without elaborating.

jmeisner@tribpub.com

Twitter: @jmetr22b

ALSO

Which senators could lose their jobs this November?

Former L.A. City Council aide, wife acquitted of embezzlement in corruption case

President Obama wasn’t the only one in Cuba. Here’s what the members of Congress were doing