http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DENNIS_HASTERT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-04-27-12-57-53Apr 27, 4:27 PM EDT
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) -- Dennis Hastert, the Republican who for eight years presided over the House and was second in the line of succession to the presidency, was sentenced Wednesday to more than a year in prison in the hush-money case that revealed accusations he sexually abused teenagers while coaching high school wrestling.
The case makes the former speaker one of the highest-ranking American politicians ever sentenced to prison. The visibly angry judge repeatedly rebuked the 74-year-old before issuing the 15-month sentence, telling him that his abuse devastated the lives of victims and would probably make it harder than ever for parents to trust other adults with their children.
"If Denny Hastert could do it, anyone could do it,'" U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin said. "Nothing is more stunning than to have the words 'serial child molester' and 'speaker of the House' in the same sentence."
As he did for much of the hearing, Hastert sat unmoving in a wheelchair, peering over the top of his eyeglasses, his hands folded before him.
