An Illinois lawsuit filed against former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert that alleged a sexual assault has been dismissed.

Kendall County Circuit Judge Robert Pilmer ruled Monday that the statute of limitations required dismissal of lawsuit.

Attorneys for the accuser alleged the man was “intimidated into silence” by Hastert’s power. Hastert’s attorney, John Ellis, argued the legal window to sue expired two years after the accuser turned 18. The man is now in his 50s.

The lawsuit alleged Hastert sodomized the accuser when he was in the fourth grade in a bathroom stall in Yorkville, Illinois, in the early 1970s. The suburban Chicago man did not see his attacker’s face, but said he learned it was Hastert weeks after.

The 75-year-old Hastert served a 15-month sentence for violating bank withdrawal reporting requirements. He was released from prison in July.