Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty last year to breaking banking laws for making illegal withdrawals to conceal a dark secret from his past. Sentencing guidelines suggested that the former House speaker would probably serve no more than six months in prison.
But details of the case now suggest that he might receive a longer sentence. The judge can disregard the guidelines and impose a far stiffer sentence. That's because prosecutors recently lifted a veil of secrecy and disclosed that sex-abuse allegations are at the heart of the hush-money case.
Hastert is to be sentenced Wednesday. Prosecutors plan to focus their efforts on accusations that the 74-year-old Republican molested at least four students decades ago when he was the wrestling coach at Yorkville High School outside Chicago.
