I understand the statute of limitations, and appreciate that Dennis Hastert is in ill health, but I have difficulty mustering much sympathy for him.

From a previous Chicago Tribune report:

In Congress, Hastert supported the Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2000, which among other measures, sought to prevent and punish the sexual abuse of minors.

And in 2003, when Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart was recovered after being kidnapped, sexually assaulted and held captive for nine months, Hastert took a strong stance in a statement.

"It is important to have a national notification system to help safely recover children kidnapped by child predators," he said. "But it is equally important to stop those predators before they strike, to put repeat child molesters into jail for the rest of their lives and to help law enforcement with the tools they need to get the job done."

Another disconnect here (between Hastert's rhetoric " put repeat child molesters into jail for the rest of their lives" ) and the fact that the 'serial molester' is now revealed to be Hastert he will not only get what seems like a light sentence but they are demanding (and getting) him assigned to a 'prison' where he can receive the best medical care for his diabetes and 'health issues" And yrt if 'the system" can be so considerate of Hastert while prisons do not even provide minimal medical care for all the rest who,( thanks to the rhetoric of two-faced law-makers like Hastert, ) other men, no more 'guilty than Hastert, will indeed "spend the rest of their lives in prison" and may die sooner for lack of the same medical care Hastert and his attorneys (and the judge) demand for Hastert. , I do not wish to deny medical care to Hastert but some recognition of the disconnect that occurs when power receives a lighter sentence AND better care while in prison just because they are one of 'the old boys club"

if this is the one i heard on siriusxm today on the way home , this is bs i thank

yep thats the one heard it on fox news, on Sirius xm today

well for what it's worth, it looks like the DA did everything in their legal power to get him the harshest sentence as possible. I don't think it was simply his high political position, but it's that they couldn't charge him for all those crimes.

I am not agreeing with the outcome, just trying to understand the article. More proof how backwards our courts are

If the statute of limitations ran out to charge this guy for the sex crimes he openly admitted to in court, then we must accept that he could not legally be charged for those crimes.

However, according to other news outlets, the judge gave him three times the length of prison than the prosecutor asked for him to receive, because the judge took into account that he sexually abused four of his high school wrestling students.

That said, what this guy did is beyond unconscionable because of his government position. It boils my blood when these folks who draft, file, and enact laws, or are charged with the duty to enforce laws then commit sex crimes. Moreover, end up getting off with no convictions or light sentences when they, above all others should be held to the strictest application of law.

Guess what? Hasert's attorney says "undergoing sex offender evaluation and treatment" is too great an orderl to expect Hasert to undergo...Who ever acknowledged it was an 'ordeal" before this? Scientififc Mumbo -jumbo exposed? Interesting link below.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-dennis-hastert-sentencing-sex-abuse-met-20160426-story.html

He was in good health for decades and lived a full and wonderful life it sounds like. So I have no pity if he ends up dying in prison, he took advantage of children, they have come forward, and he would be charged if it weren't for the statute of limitations, which I don't think should be changed, but when it comes to these situations one does wish they didn't exist.

So if his last few months are tough and miserable, he has earned it. Like Legal said, the judge gave him 3 times the recommended sentence for the crime he did commit and was charged with. I hope that prison life brings him new perspective and a glimpse at the poor healthcare. He's earned it all.