YORKVILLE, Ill. — Before he was U.S. House speaker and second in line to the president, Dennis Hastert was known around Yorkville, Illinois, as Denny the coach, a beloved mentor to youths on the high school wrestling team and in local Scouting groups who organized trips to broaden the students’ experiences.
This week’s indictment accusing Hastert of manipulating bank accounts and lying to the FBI to allegedly cover up past “misconduct” has left hometown admirers searching back through fond memories and struggling to understand how alleged sexual abuse and extortion could have emerged from that period.
Many former wrestlers and Yorkville-area residents who spoke to The Associated Press since the indictment on Thursday spoke only warmly of Hastert, some athletes saying Hastert was a father figure as he guided them to championships. They couldn’t recall anything suspicious about the trips, including ones to the Bahamas and Canada. And none had a clue about who could have made such accusations against the coach.
“Now everybody is guessing who it is,” said Bob Evans, Hastert’s assistant wrestling coach, who joined him in taking Boy Scouts camping and fishing in northern Minnesota. “This puts a cloud over what was a pretty special time for people.”
Evans said there was never a hint of wrongdoing and that he was angry that someone would accuse Hastert without coming forward publicly.