Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison for covering up several cases of alleged child sexual abuse he perpetrated, has been released from prison two months early. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, records from the federal prison in Minnesota where he spent the past 13 months indicate he “is now under the supervision of a residential re-entry management field office based in Chicago.” In other words, Hastert is currently living in a halfway house while under strict management, or confined to his own home.
Per CBS Chicago, Hastert’s release was originally scheduled for August 16th of this year. Due to his advanced age and health, however, the former congressman was likely released two months early to lessen his and the Rochester Federal Medical Center’s burdens. After all, despite the severity of the child molestation allegations made against Hastert, he was actually charged and convicted of violating federal banking laws back in 2016. These crimes ultimately resulted in his 15-month prison sentence, two years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine — all of which seems paltry considering the severity of the related claims.
Even so, Hastert — who was called a “serial child molester” by the judge who sentence him — probably won’t be doing anything in the public eye anytime soon. Along with the sexual abuse claims levied against him, the former politician earned the televised scorn of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and others — especially when news of his wanting a judge to dismiss a victims’ hush money lawsuit against him.
(Via Chicago Sun-Times and CBS Chicago)