Inmate No. 47991-424: Hastert to report to prison soon

CHICAGO (AP) — Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert must report to a federal prison in southeastern Minnesota this week to begin serving a 15-month sentence in his hush-money case, one that revealed he sexually abused at least four boys decades ago when he coached wrestling at a suburban Chicago high school.

Inmates-to-be usually wait until just before the reporting deadline, but Hastert, who has been free on bond, could choose to report earlier to elude a crush of reporters and TV cameras.

U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin recommended this facility for the ailing Hastert during sentencing on April 27, though the Federal Bureau of Prisons made the final decision.

When he arrives, he'll be subject to the same protocol as other new inmates, which includes a full-body strip search for contraband.

Hastert will also trade in his street clothes for prison garb and be subject to psychological and social screening, according to an inmate-orientation guide.

During sentencing, Durkin pointed to the prison's large population of child molesters, saying it should lessen the chances Hastert would be singled out for attacks in a prison culture in which those who hurt children are considered the lowest of the low.

[...] Hastert was charged with and pleaded guilty to violating banking law in trying to pay $3.5 million in hush money to one victim referred to in court papers only as "Individual A."