A FORMER cheerleading coach was arrested last week after being accused of sexual molestation by one of her students, said police.
Alyshia Tkacs, 33, was charged with five counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of second-degree child molestation.
According to the court documents, the victim was a minor when Tkacs was her coach.
The victim told investigators in Rhode Island that Tkacs molested her multiple times over a period of two years, with the alleged abuse starting when the victim was 12.
The victim claimed that the abuse happened almost daily, said police.
“The victim reported that the sexual assaults occurred in East Providence and Barrington, RI during the two-year period and occurred almost daily,” said Lt Michael Rapoza.
Tkacs, a nurse at Woman & Infants Hospital, has been suspended without pay, reported the DailyMail.
The hospital is owned by Care New England, which released a statement through their spokesperson, Raina Smith.
“Care New England conducted background checks prior to employment and those were clean. She has been suspended indefinitely without pay and denied access to our campus,” she said,
“We take the care and safety of our community very seriously, so we immediately took action when notified.”
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Veronica Seavey, who attended nursing school with Tkacs shared her disbelief to WJAR.
“It just didn’t seem like something that she would do and she had a daughter who is that age,” said Seavey.
“I just had a baby thee and a half months ago and she was my nurse at Women & Infants. You just can’t trust anybody.”
In a statement, Cheerfactor, a Rhode Island gym where Tkacs’ daughter trains revealed that Tkacs never coached there.
“Please be advised that Alyshia Tkacs has never coached, provided instruction or been employed in any capacity by Cheerfactor or any of its affiliated gyms or programs. Her daughter is a participant, and that is her only affiliation with the program, as a parent of an all-star cheer athlete,” the gym said.
Tkacs was held without bail during arraignment and is scheduled to return to court on Thursday.
The investigation is still ongoing, said authorities.