The family of a deceased man says the man had alleged he was regularly abused by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, according to ABC News.
Jolene Reinboldt said June 5 that her brother Steve confided to her in 1979 that he had been in a sexual relationship with Hastert when he was student equipment manager of the Yorkville, Illinois, wrestling team that Hastert coached in the late '60s. Steve was also a member of the Explorers troop that Hastert led.
Jolene said that when her brother first came out to her, she asked who his first same-sex encounter was with; he answered that it was Hastert. He had never told anyone about the encounters because Hastert was highly esteemed in the community, she added. Steve died from AIDS complications in 1995.
The new allegations follow Hastert's indictment for fraud and lying to the FBI the week of May 25. Prosecutors allege that Hastert was strategically withdrawing money so as to avoid bank-withdrawal disclosure rules in order to pay off a blackmailer, whose identity was not revealed in grand jury documents. Sources knowledgeable about the investigation later leaked that the blackmail stemmed from sexual-abuse accusations.
Jolene said that she confronted Hastert about the allegations at Steve's funeral but he refused to speak to her. She also said that she tried to interest the media in the story several times over the years, especially when Hastert was embroiled in the sex-abuse scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, but the story could never be corroborated.
Once Jolene heard about Hastert's indictment, she was stunned, she said. "There are no words to describe what it felt like, to, you, know, it's just like Stevie had done it."
Hastert's arraignment is scheduled for June 9. ABC's story is at abcn.ws/1EZtqz1 .