Brother of Tom Cross says he was Hastert victim
The younger brother of a political protégé of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has identified himself as a victim of sexual abuse.
Scott Cross, known in prosecutors' court filings as "Individual D," took the stand Wednesday at Hastert's sentencing hearing in a federal hush-money case.
Cross, of Wheaton, is a longtime senior vice president at Northern Trust and secretary of the DuPage County Board of Health.
Cross was a standout wrestler coached by Hastert at Yorkville High School from 1976 to 1980. He placed third in the state in the 112-pound division in 1980, his senior year.
According to court filings, Individual D recalled that Hastert put a "Lazyboy"-type chair in direct view of the shower stalls in the locker room and sat there while the boys showered.
When he was 17, he stayed after practice one day to work out to get down to his weight class, the court documents say. Hastert, according to the court filings, told him a massage "could take some pounds off" and had him lie on a table.
Hastert removed the teen's pants and performed a sex act on him. "This was the only time that defendant molested Individual D, and defendant and Individual D never spoke of it," the filing reads.
Scott Cross's older brother, Tom, is the former Illinois House Republican leader and was a young rising star in the Kendall County Republican Party when Hastert was in Congress.
Family members say they were unaware of any abuse until Hastert was indicted last summer for dodging banking regulations by withdrawing large sums of cash, which prosecutors say Hastert paid to compensate another victim.
Follow our coverage of the sentencing hearing in our live blog.