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