Mariana Ramos
According to the Associated Press, a federal judge in Chicago ordered on Tuesday that Former House speaker Dennis Hastert must not be left alone with children unless another adult is present. The judge was just made aware that he paid money to conceal that he’d sexually abused teenage boys.
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Hastert, who admitted in 2015 to paying out hush money and then lying about it to the FBI, is also barred from possessing pornography and using sex chat lines. The Illinois Republican left a federal prison in Minnesota in July after serving nearly 13 months of his 15-month sentence. He is now on supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin issued a number of other restrictions on the daily life of the 75-year-old. He must consent to the installation of monitoring software on his computers, and covering all of the costs himself.
He must submit his phone bills and credit card statements when asked, and submit to a search of his home and belongings on demand, no warrant needed, according to NBC Chicago.
He also needs to get prior approval from the probation department before using any computer or other device with Internet access. The order came a day after a probation officer monitoring Hastert’s case filed a report under seal in Chicago federal court.
Hastert has recently been undergoing a sex offender evaluation ordered by the court to expose any undisclosed offenses and determine whether he presents a danger to society.
Hastert’s attorney was not immediately available for comment. The AP and Chicago Tribune reported that he did not respond to their requests for a statement.
However, the Tribune reported that judge’s order indicated that Hastert agreed to the new restrictions.
Hastert, the nation’s longest-serving GOP House speaker from 1999 to 2007, pleaded guilty in 2015 to violating banking rules as he sought to pay $3.5 million to a victim referred to only as, “Individual A”, to keep him quiet about the sex abuse. Hastert couldn’t be charged with sexual abuse because statutes of limitation had long since expired.
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The requests to tighten the restrictions came in a report filed under seal by a probation officer Monday in Chicago federal court. The filing likely provided other details, including why officials believed they were necessary.
Any adult who Hastert might ask to be present when minors are around must first be approved by a probation officer and the person providing treatment to Hastert, the judge’s order says.
