<p>Former politician and Illinois Rep. John Dennis &ldquo;Denny&rdquo; Hastert is best known for his time as House Speaker (1999-2007). This week, Hastert was sentenced to 15 months of prison for &ldquo;serial child molestation.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Before serving in Congress, Hastert worked as a high school teacher and wrestling coach. This week, he admitted to having &ldquo;mistreated&rdquo; many of his former students. &ldquo;What I did was wrong, and I regret it,&rdquo; said Hastert. &ldquo;They looked to me, and I took advantage of them.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p><em>Hastert admitted the abuse was sexual in nature. ;</em></p>
<p>After decades of silence, one of Hastert&rsquo;s victims finally spoke up. &ldquo;Individual A&rdquo; filed a lawsuit this week, claiming the former Speaker had failed to pay the agreed-upon $3.5 million intended to keep him silent. ;Hastert plead guilty. ;</p>
<p>Judge Thomas M. Durkin, who delivered the sentence, also ruled that Hastert be under supervision for 2 years, during which time he will be prohibited from contacting the victims. The former Speaker will also pay a $250,000 fine. ;Durkin deemed Hastert&rsquo;s attorney&rsquo;s pleas for probation &ldquo;inappropriate,&rdquo; considering the severity of the crime. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Nothing is more stunning than having &lsquo;serial child molester&rsquo; and &lsquo;Speaker of the House&rsquo; in the same sentence,&rsquo; said Durkin. &ldquo;If there&rsquo;s a public shaming of the defendant because of the conduct he&rsquo;s engaged in, so be it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&#8220;Individual A&#8221; was not the only victim to testify against Hastert. ;Scott Cross, brother of former House GOP leader Tom Cross, claims he was abused as a 17-year-old. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are very proud of Scott for having the courage to relive this very painful part of his life in order to ensure that justice is done today,&rdquo; said Tom&rsquo;s family. ;</p>
<p>Jolene Burdge testified in place of her brother Stephen Reinboldt, describing the abuse he endured and told her about before dying of AIDS in 1995. &ldquo;I hope I have been your worst nightmare,&rdquo; she said to Hastert. ;</p>