Former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert "has more problems than he can count," facing charges of lying to the FBI and allegations of sexual abuse when he was a high school wrestling coach, conservative commentator Michael Reagan told
Newsmax TV.
Hastert pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal charges of taking money from the bank in small increments to avoid reporting and for lying to investigators about it. Officials say Hastert was using the money to pay off someone threatening to blackmail him over the sex abuse allegations, but he won't face charges for sex with underage boys. The statute of limitations has run out.
Reagan, a victim of sexual abuse when he was a child, told "Newsmax Prime" on Tuesday he has long argued there should be no statute of limitations for the crime against children that leaves them scarred for life.
"Normally, statute of limitations are there to protect the abuser, not the abused," Reagan said.
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Reagan said he deals with self-esteem issues and more every day because of an after-school counselor who abused him and took nude photos of him when he was 9. He worried that the photos would come out when his father Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California and for president, and he considered suicide.
He eventually wrote a book in 1988 to tell his story and encourage others to get help.
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