There are two separate justice systems in the United States.
There is the justice system specifically designed for the rich and famous.
Then there is the system for the rest of us, it is designed to intimidate, bully, and in particular deny justice for victims.
While both systems are dysfunctional, each serves the purpose of ignoring the laws.
I have seen the law get twisted like a pretzel to enforce all kinds of abuses by the legal, law enforcement, justice, and Court systems.
I have seen the law get twisted like a pretzel to enforce all kinds of abuses by the legal, law enforcement, justice, and Court systems.
Hastert's is a case that should outrage every American.
He's a "serial child molester"
Hastert was sentenced April 27, 2016 to 15 months in federal prison (the Prosecution only asked for 6 months), followed by two years of supervised release and sex offender treatment, for breaking federal banking rules related to the cover-up of his sexual molestation activities.
In a supposed free, democratic, nation, everyone is equal under the law, but instead,
in reality, the legal system gives certain people, very special easy treatment.
In America we are supposed to live under a fair and just system of law, and by any
reasonable count the Hasert case is an absolute mockery of the illusion of justice.
None of the following people have molested children or hurt people in the ways that Dennis Hastert has, but they will all probably spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
In 1996, Timothy Jackson was sentenced to life in prison for shoplifting a $159 jacket.
In 1995, Ramona Brant was sentenced to life in prison for “conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.” She was granted clemency in 2015 and released earlier this year.
In 1997, Alice Marie Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for “Attempted Possession” of cocaine.
In 2008, Fate Vincent Winslow was sentenced to life in prison for selling two $10 bags of marijuana.
In 2009, Patrick W. Matthews was sentenced to life in prison for stealing a welding machine.
Earlier this year Willie Lee Conner was sentenced to life in prison for stealing a roof nailer tool from a hardware store.
Earlier this month Jacobia Grime stole $31 worth of candy from a dollar store. He’s now facing a lifetime in prison.
So... a former politician who is a serial child molester, thwarting federal law to launder/hide bank transactions in the millions, a method often used by drug lords, terrorists, and apparently politicians sending hush money, gets you a maximum sentence of a fine and just over a year in jail?
And they ONLY gave him the "max" because the act was done to cover another crime that was past the statutes of limitations for child abuse cases.
And they ONLY gave him the "max" because the act was done to cover another crime that was past the statutes of limitations for child abuse cases.
Yeah, all this sure sounds fair to me..
In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin repeatedly slammed Hastert as a "serial child molester" who not only violated the trust of the boys he'd coached but also tried to mislead federal authorities years later by claiming he was being blackmailed by one of his victims.
"Nothing is more stunning than having the words "serial child molester" and "Speaker of the House' in the same sentence," Durkin said.
Scott Cross, previously identified in court papers only as Individual D, went public with his account of how Hastert had sexually molested him in an otherwise empty locker room one afternoon in fall 1979 when he was a 17-year-old senior.
Also testifying was Jolene Burdge, who recalled in poignant detail how her brother, Stephen Reinboldt, had spent years "running from the pain and turmoil" Hastert's abuse had caused, afraid to speak out about it because he thought no one would believe him. When she had confronted Hastert about the abuse at her brother's funeral in 1995, he treated her like an "insignificant annoyance," she said.
After apologizing to his family, supporters, constituents and the government, Hastert wrapped up his remarks by thanking Durkin for listening.
But the judge didn't let him off the hook. As Hastert gathered his papers and moved to take a seat, Durkin said he had a few questions of his own.
"You said you mistreated athletes. Did you sexually abuse Mr. Cross?" Durkin asked.
"I — I don't remember doing that, but I accept his statement," Hastert said.
"Did you sexually abuse Victim B?" asked Durkin, referring to another former wrestler who accused Hastert of performing a sex act on him when he was 14.
"Yes," Hastert replied quickly.
"Alright. And how about Mr. Reinboldt? Did you sexually abuse him?" the judge asked.
After Hastert replied, "That was a different situation," Durkin said, "If you want to elaborate, now is the time to do it."
Hastert conferred with his lawyer.
"I — I would accept Ms. Burdge's statement," he then said haltingly.
"So you did sexually abuse him?" Durkin asked.
"Yes," Hastert replied.
In his lengthy remarks, the judge ripped Hastert's attempts to blame Individual A as "unconscionable." His lies led the FBI to open an extortion investigation against Individual A, including pulling his bank records, tapping his phone and conducting surveillance on his activities.
"You tried to set him up," Durkin said. "You tried to frame him ...The full weight of the federal government's investigative resources were thrown at him. And he didn't deserve it , he was a victim decades ago and you tried to make him a victim again."
In her remarks, Burdge talked about how her brother's life deteriorated after Hastert abused him in high school, the trauma leading him "down a path of high-risk, reckless behavior that ultimately cost him his life."
Stricken with AIDS, Reinboldt spent his last years wallowing in depression, living in a one-room apartment in Los Angeles, she said. When he died, fear over the AIDS epidemic was rampant, and only one funeral home would come to pick up his body "in the cover of night," she said.
"You took his life, Mr. Hastert, not because he died of AIDS, but because you took his innocence and turned it against him," she said. "He was too young and vulnerable to understand that."
Unfortunately, the pain caused by Hastert’s actions has not passed.
There shouldn't be a statute of limitations on child molestation. Some can't even admit they were victims till much older, the shame and guilt and embarrassment keep them quiet. Often they struggle with sexual identification as gay or straight and/or addictions. Trying to sort it out, admit it, get brave enough to disclose it can take a lifetime.
Hastert's light punishment for his depraved acts as a pedophile tells me it's because of who he is, or more specifically who he was.
There shouldn't be a statute of limitations on child molestation. Some can't even admit they were victims till much older, the shame and guilt and embarrassment keep them quiet. Often they struggle with sexual identification as gay or straight and/or addictions. Trying to sort it out, admit it, get brave enough to disclose it can take a lifetime.
Hastert's light punishment for his depraved acts as a pedophile tells me it's because of who he is, or more specifically who he was.
Incredibly, Hastert will continue to collect payments from his Illinois General Assembly pension, which pays out $28,000 annually, and $73,000 a year from his congressional pension as his misconduct did not occur during his time in Office. So convenient, wonder who wrote those laws?
Hastert begged for leniency before he was sentenced for covering up decades of sexual abuse, but he urged harsh punishment for other offenders like himself more than a decade ago, when he was still a lawmaker.
Hastert begged for leniency before he was sentenced for covering up decades of sexual abuse, but he urged harsh punishment for other offenders like himself more than a decade ago, when he was still a lawmaker.
The longtime Republican lawmaker supported the Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2000 and called for stiffer, life in prison penalties for sex offenders before his own pattern of abuse was revealed, reported the Chicago Tribune.Hastert said in 2003, “It is important to stop child predators before they strike, to put repeat child molesters into jail for the rest of their lives and to help law enforcement with the tools they need to get the job done,”.
Hastert’s stunning hypocrisy for achieving success while his victims struggled, continue to struggle, with the effects of his abuse is no surprise.
His special legal treatment because he used to be important, is painfully symbolic of the disgraceful systemic cesspool of our Court System and the Laws that are manipulated for those, by the arrogance of the legal system who deem themselves more worthy than the rest of us.
We have sunk so low, that justice is not even dispensed to cowardly animals such as
Dennis Hastert who preyed on young defenseless teenagers, as he at the same time hid behind political power and manipulated the law.
I'd rather hear that Hastert got gang-raped in a for-profit prison.
That would tie it all together for me as Justice served.
