Dennis Hastert reached a tentative settlement deal with a man who accused the former House speaker of sexually abusing him as a child.
Lawyers for both men said the out-of-court settlement was reached on Wednesday, days before a civil trial was set to begin in Illinois court. This ended the lawsuit over Hastert refusing to pay an outstanding $1.8 million that is part of a 2010 verbal agreement to pay $3.5 million in exchange for the man’s silence.
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A written agreement is expected to be given to the judge by Sept. 24, plaintiff attorney Kristi Browne said. Details of the settlement were not immediately available.
The breach-of-contract lawsuit was filed in 2016, claiming Hastert, now 79, paid his accuser $1.7 million over four years.
Hastert, who was speaker from 1999 to 2007, pleaded guilty to a banking charge after the FBI questioned him about illegally concealing large cash withdrawals and was sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2016. He was released after 13 months.
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The man suing was an Illinois high school wrestler, and Hastert was his coach at the time of the alleged abuse. The victim’s name has not been revealed, referenced only in court documents as “James Doe.”
Hastert admitted to sexually abusing multiple students during his sentencing hearing, but in certain filings in the civil case, he appears to walk back the assertion, according to the Associated Press.
