A judge sentenced former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to 15 months in prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to making hush-money payments to cover up allegations of sexual abuse.
The 74-year-old is accused of sexually abusing four boys when he was working as a wrestling coach at an Illinois high school decades ago.
NBC reports Hastert said he regretted what he called "mistreating" the boys, saying, "They looked up to me and I took advantage of them."
Because of the statute of limitations, authorities can no longer press charges against Hastert for the alleged sexual abuse.
The judge also ordered Hastert, who served as House speaker from 1999 to 2007, to register as a sex offender and pay a $250,000 fine.
This video includes a clip from CNN and images from Getty Images.
