Judge rules accuser can remain anonymous in Hastert sex abuse suit

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert departs the federal courthouse Wednesday, April 27, 2016, in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

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The Associated Press

May 30, 2017 - 10:53 am

GENEVA, Ill. — A county judge has ruled an Illinois man can remain anonymous as he sues Dennis Hastert, saying the former House speaker sexually assaulted him when he was a fourth-grader.

WLS-TV in Chicago reports a Kane County judge made the ruling Tuesday morning in the civil lawsuit filed Friday. It’s at least the fifth such allegation against Hastert, who will soon be released from prison in a hush-money case. His attorneys didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The suit was filed using the pseudonym Richard Doe. It alleges the former Illinois Republican congressman abused him during the 1970s in Yorkville, Illinois, where Hastert was a high school wrestling coach.

Hastert, 75, is serving 15 months for trying to pay $3.5 million in hush money to one victim.

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