IL--On eve of Hastert sentencing, victims hold vigil
On eve of Hastert sentencing, victims hold vigil
Victims hold candles, signs and childhood photos
They want judge to put ex-House speaker in prison
SNAP says he should set up a fund to help his victims
Group wants his penalty to “deter those who conceal abuse”
WHAT
Holding candles, signs and childhood photos (including one of Hastert victims, Stephen Reinboldt) at a sidewalk vigil, abuse victims and supporters will urge
--A judge to send Dennis Hastert to prison and order him to set up a fund to compensate his victims
--Lawmakers to reform “archaic, predator-friendly” statutes of limitation which enabled Hastert to evade prosecution for child sex crimes, and
--Anyone who saw, suspect or experienced child sex crimes to speak up, expose the identities of perpetrators, and get help for victims who suffer alone in secrecy and shame.
They will also remember Reinboldt and other victims of child sex crimes who die of suicides, addictions, drug overdoses and other complications trying to self-medicate the immense emotional pain.
WHEN
TODAY, Tuesday, April 26, 4:45 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
WHERE
On the sidewalk in front of the Federal Courthouse at 219 S. Dearborn (between Jackson and Adams) in downtown Chicago
WHO
Five-seven members of a support group for clergy sex abuse victims called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
WHY
SNAP hopes Judge Thomas Durkin considers Denny Hastert’s most recent wrongdoing – his attempt to frame a man he molested as a child – when he sentences the politician tomorrow. “This is the second worst crime Hastert committed, second only to his repeated child sex crimes,” said Barbara Blaine of SNAP
“Hastert told the FBI he was being extorted. He let agents listen in on a call with one of his victims, hoping that they would falsely conclude that Hastert, not the child sex abuse victim, was the one who was suffering and needed law enforcement’s help. Shame on him,” Blaine stressed. “Had Hastert succeeded in his calculated deceit, a man who had been sexually violated as a child might have ended up in prison, falsely convicted of extorting money from a powerful politician.”
A copy of the indictment is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/28/us/document-indictment-of-john-dennis-hastert.html
CONTACT
Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected]), David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell,[email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
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