Hastert Accuser Files Lawsuit Over $1.8 Million In Unpaid Hush Money
(CBS) -- An individual at the center of the Dennis Hastert hush money case is suing the former U.S. House speaker for breach of contract.
The plaintiff, identified as James Doe in the lawsuit, says Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million in 2010. From 2010 to 2014, the lawsuit says Hastert paid $1.7 million and the plaintiff is seeking the remaining $1.8 million.
The plaintiff has accused Hastert of sexually abusing him in a motel room while at a wrestling camp when the plaintiff was 14 and Hastert was wrestling coach at Yorkville High School. The camp was for high school students and the suit says Hastert invited the plaintiff to it even though he was not yet in high school at the time.
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The man claims he suffered severe panic attacks, periods of unemployment, bouts of depression and long-term psychiatric treatment.
"The way it's phrased, that he suffered all those years, that there was an agreement, Hastert began multiple payments to him over the years, it sounds to me like this is a pretty legitimate claim," CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller.
On Wednesday, Hastert is scheduled to be sentenced for breaking federal banking laws by withdrawing money in a way to avoid reporting requirements in order to keep the payments secret. The plaintiff is listed as "Individual A" in the federal investigation. Hastert could be sentenced to the maximum five years.
Prosecutors have said Hastert abused four others during his time at Yorkville H.S. The plaintiff says he confronted Hastert in 2008 after learning he abused someone else.
Earlier this month, Hastert issued an apology in a statement through his attorneys apologizing for past "transgressions."
The lawsuit was filed in Kendall County on Monday and the plaintiff is being represented by Patterson Law Firm in Chicago.
