"What I did was wrong and I regret it," he said. "They looked up to me and I took advantage of them."This story was originally published June 9, 2015.Dennis Hastert, once one of the most powerful politicians in America, comes out of hiding today to appear in court. Hastert, a former Congressman from Illinois, faces charges of bank fraud for withdrawing $3.5 million and lying to the FBI about it. But, the real scandal is what the money was for: Hastert allegedly withdrew the sum to pay an unnamed individual whom he had sexually abused while working as a schoolteacher. If convicted, Hastert faces up to five years in prison on each count.We should also mention that when Hastert was Speaker of the House, he led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton over a consensual affair.According to an interview with ABC News , Steve Reinboldt told his sister, Jolene Burge, in 1979 that Hastert — who was his high school wrestling coach — had sexually abused him for years. Reinboldt said he didn't think anyone would believe him if he came forward about it; he died in 1995. Burge says she tried to tell the media about her brother's allegations in 2007 — and she came forward about them once again last week.