Hastert Lawsuit Thrown Out, Plaintiff Could Sue Yorkville Schools

YORKVILLE, IL — One of two civil lawsuits filed against former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has been dismissed by a Kendall County judge. Of the two civil cases Hastert has faced, the one dropped Monday by Judge Robert Pilmer has been considered the more legally problematic one, due to the allegations.

A plaintiff, who was allowed to remain anonymous and is now in his 50s, claimed that Hastert molested him in the mid-1970s when he was a child and Hastert was a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School. The plaintiff's attorney, Kristi Browne, said Monday that her client's allegation is that "when he was a child, he was threatened by Mr. Hastert if he revealed this to anyone," and that "when he was 20 or 21, he went to the State's Attorney's office to try to make a complaint, and at that time, his allegation is that he was told he would be prosecuted if he made that complaint and that he could be sued by Mr. Hastert for slander."

Judge Pilmer ruled that the lawsuit was beyond the statute of limitations, and dismissed it without prejudice, and it cannot be refiled. He said the motion to dismiss the complaint was granted based on the passage of time.

In a statement, Browne said she would “explore our options in terms of a motion to reconsider,” according to Kendall County Now. The outlet also reported that she’s considering filing suit against the Yorkville School District.

“We haven’t made a claim against the school district yet, but we have asked for discovery [documents related to Hastert] in order to investigate the possibility of a claim,” she said. “It’s our position that what happened today doesn’t forgo that process. The school district has been collecting discovery to turn over to us.” >>Read more from Kendall County Now here.

In another lawsuit, Hastert’s original accuser is suing him for the unpaid balance of a $3.5 million hush money contract. That suit is up again next month in Kendall County Court, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Photo: Lake County Sheriff Department via AP