Hastert revelations could increase chances for prison time

CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors have given the federal court overseeing Dennis Hastert's hush-money case enough evidence of sexual abuse for the judge to at least consider sentencing the former House speaker to more than the suggested maximum of six months behind bars.

Hastert has pleaded guilty to breaking banking law in a scheme to pay $3.5 million to ensure that a person identified in court papers only as "Individual A" stayed silent about being abused when he was a 14-year-old student at the Illinois high school where Hastert was the wrestling coach.

The statutory maximum for the banking violation is five years in prison, but sentencing guidelines suggest no more than a matter of months.

[...] prosecutors considered Hastert's conduct with the victims, all boys 14 to 17 years old, so egregious that they chose to pursue the banking charge to ensure he faced some punishment.

Prosecutors also described a recliner where Hastert often sat in the locker room with a direct view of the stalls where the boys showered.

HOW CAN PROSECUTORS BRING UP SEX ABUSE WHEN HASTERT WAS NEVER CONVICTED OF THAT CRIME?

[...] federal statutes push the door wide open for prosecutors to bring up the defendant's character and past misbehavior, especially if it sheds light on the crime of which that person is convicted.

The government was partly constrained by the 2015 plea agreement with Hastert, which says both sides agree that guideline calculations put the range at zero to six months in prison, according to Steve Greenberg, a Chicago-area defense attorney.

Defense lawyers asked last week in a filing of their own for the judge to spare Hastert prison time and give him probation instead, citing their client's health and the steep price they say he's already paid in public shame.