Judge Allows Hastert Victim's Breach Of Contract Lawsuit To Proceed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A day after former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison for trying to cover up allegations of sex abuse, a Kendall County judge allowed an individual at the center of the case to proceed with a lawsuit seeking the rest of the hush money Hastert had promised him.
The criminal case against Hastert began because of his attempt to pay an unnamed "Individual A" $3.5 million to remain silent about Hastert sexually abusing him when he was a wrestling coach in Yorkville decades ago.
When Hastert skirted banking regulations to try to avoid scrutiny of the hush money payments, the feds began looking into his finances, and ultimately found Hastert had already paid "Individual A" $1.7 million in hush money, and discovered allegations Hastert molested four other boys.
Hastert has pleaded guilty to violating banking laws to hide the hush money payments, and although he has not been charged with any sex crimes because the statute of limitations has expired on any such charges, he did admit at his sentencing hearing Wednesday that he had molested members of the Yorkville High School wrestling team when he was a coach and teacher there from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
Earlier this week, Individual A filed a breach of contract lawsuit in Kendall County, seeking the remaining $1.8 million Hastert had promised him to keep quiet about the abuse.
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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 alleged Hastert invited the plaintiff to it even though he was not yet in high school at the time.
Kendall County Judge Robert Pilmer ruled Individual A's lawsuit can proceed under the pseudonym James Doe, because of the shame and embarrassment that would be caused by using his real name. However, Pilmer said that man must file his real name with the court under seal, which would allow the judge to recuse himself if there is a conflict of interest.
Individual A did not testify against Hastert at his sentencing hearing, but his deal with Hastert set the criminal case into motion. His attorney said her client is a private person who simply does not want his name made public.
"The issues are highly sensitive, and I'm not sure the public has a strong interest in knowing the identity of my client. They certainly have a strong interest in knowing what the allegations are, and those are public, but I think that my client's interest in privacy in this particular instance outweighs the public's interest in knowing exactly who he is," Kristi Browne said.
She acknowledged there could come a time, if the man ends up testifying against Hastert, that his identity might be made public.
Regarding the 15-month sentence for Hastert, and U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin labeling him a "serial child molester," Browne said "Judge Durkin put a lot of thought into probably every word he said."
Hastert's attorneys were given one month to respond to the lawsuit. The next hearing on the lawsuit was scheduled for July 25.
