Brown: A brave man steps up against hometown hero

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Looking at it objectively, I suppose the ultimate in courtroom courage is the bystander witness who testifies against an accused murderer, knowing it could mean spending the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.

Just the same, it’s hard to imagine any of them being any braver than Scott Cross.

On Wednesday, the former Yorkville High School wrestler, now a 54-year-old married man with a family and successful banking career, voluntarily stepped forward in court to acknowledge he had been molested at age 17 by his coach, future U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Cross, the brother of former Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross, could have easily saved himself the embarrassment and added pain of going public. He was under no legal compulsion to come forward to disclose what he had long considered his “darkest secret.”

Instead, he forthrightly told how Hastert, whose state wrestling title for Yorkville had made him a small-town mega-hero long before he went to Congress, took advantage of him in the locker room.

Scott Cross’ compelling testimony provided the last piece of evidence necessary to put Hastert in prison, where he clearly belongs.

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If anyone ever had any doubts about the case against Hastert, whether it was to question the cash withdrawal “structuring” law under which he was charged or whether he was improperly “extorted” by one of his other victims, they should have spent the morning in U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin’s courtroom.

All doubts were erased by statements to the court from Scott Cross and Jolene Burdge, sister of Stephen Reinboldt, a wrestling team manager who also was sexually abused by Hastert in high school and years later died of AIDS

What until then had been anonymous accusations printed on paper became raw and real.

By the time Durkin summed up the facts by referring to Hastert as a “serial child molester” whose cash withdrawals were intended to cover up his long ago crimes, it was only a matter of how much prison time the judge would give him.

The resulting 15-month sentence seemed inadequate, although it was probably quite reasonable under the law. The judge said as much, noting that Hastert could have spent decades in prison if caught at the time and would have been hit now with more than 15 months if not for his age and poor health.

Not satisfied with Hastert’s carefully worded apology, Durkin forced Hastert to specifically admit the sexual abuse.

In the case of Reinboldt, Hastert tried to weasel out.

“It was a different situation, sir,” he protested to the judge.

Different how? Because Reinboldt may have been gay? Because they developed some sort of relationship beyond Hastert’s usual inappropriate groping?

Hastert never quite explained. After conferring with his lawyer, he said he accepted the statement by Burdge.

“So you did sexually abuse him?” Durkin demanded.

“Yes,” Hastert conceded.

In Scott Cross’ case, he said he didn’t remember doing it, but accepted Cross’ statement.

Again, why couldn’t he remember? Because there were so many boys he abused he couldn’t keep them straight? Or because he’s spent his life trying to push out of his mind what he’d done?

We are supposed to believe that all this is ancient history and that Hastert lost his interest in sex with teenage boys when he left coaching and was elected to the Illinois Legislature and later Congress.

Admittedly, there is no evidence to the contrary, but I’ll never believe it unless Hastert can point to some life-changing experience that has so far remained secret.

Hastert even had the gall to call Tom Cross, the former legislator, to ask him to write a letter of support on his behalf for the sentencing.

He’s a bigger creep than I could have imagined.

Hats off to Scott Cross for calling him out.

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