During reportedly emotional testimony at former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s sentencing, “individual D,” an alleged victim of Hastert’s sexual abuse took the stand and identified himself as 53-year-old Scott Cross, the brother of former Illinois Rep. Tom Cross (R-IL).
Tom Cross served as the former House minority leader and was often seen as a political protege of Hastert’s according to the Chicago Tribune.
Scott Cross said he decided to come forward after learning that Hastert had been paying Individual A. According to a report from the Chicago Tribune he decided he could no longer keep the secret.
Scott Cross was allegedly abused when he was a senior in high school, according to the Chicago Tribune. Scott Cross was unnamed in a previously released sentencing document, but Court documents identified that Individual D was on the wrestling team Hastert coached and said he had respect and trust in Hastert. In that sentencing document released earlier this month, Scott Cross said that Hastert had “put a Lazyboy type chair in direct view of the shower stalls in the locker room where he sat while the boys showered.”
Then, the document goes on to say that one day when he was 17 years old, Hastert allegedly offered to give him a massage to help him get closer to making weight. In that document, Scott Cross alleges that Hastert “performed a sexual act.”
