Former Speaker Dennis Hastert Dies at 84 After Prison for Abuse Cover-Up

Dennis Hastert, who served as Republican House speaker from 1999 to 2007, died Saturday at his home at age 84, according to Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell. He died of natural causes while receiving hospice care.

Hastert helped pass President George W. Bush's agenda, including major tax cuts and a Medicare prescription drug expansion. His congressional career ended after the 2006 midterm elections when Republicans lost their majority.

“Hastert sexually abused at least four team members from 1965 to 1981.”

In 2015, federal prosecutors charged Hastert with structuring bank withdrawals to evade reporting requirements. The payments were hush money to conceal sexual abuse of teenage boys on the wrestling team he coached in Yorkville, Illinois, from 1965 to 1981.

Prosecutors said Hastert abused at least four team members. One victim, identified as Individual A, said the abuse occurred in a motel room when he was 14. Others described abuse in a locker room where Hastert sat in a recliner with a view of the shower stalls.

Hastert pleaded guilty to the banking charge in 2016 and served more than a year in federal prison. He became one of the highest-ranking U.S. politicians ever sentenced to prison.