A former cheerleading coach in East Providence, Rhode Island, has been arrested on child molestation charges.
Alyshia Tkacs is being accused of incidents that allegedly took place a decade ago. The 33-year-old has been charged with five counts of first-degree child molestation, as well as two counts of second-degree molestation.
She's being held without bond until her hearing on Thursday.
Tkacs was a cheerleading coach for a competitive organization during the time that the alleged assaults took place. According to charging documents, the accuser claims she was assaulted almost daily by Tkacs for two years. The alleged victim says she was 12 years old when it began.
Tkacs now works as a nurse at Women & Infants Hospital, which is part of the Care New England network in Providence. According to the hospital, she has been suspended without pay, given the allegations against her.
Raina Smith, a spokesperson for the hospital, said, "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."
Smith continued, "We take the care and safety of our community very seriously, so we immediately took action when notified."
Veronica Seavey knows the accused from nursing school. She says she can't believe the charges. She told WJAR in Providence that she was in disbelief over the charges.
"It just didn't seem like something that she would do and she had a daughter who is that age," she told WJAR.
"I had a baby three and half months ago and she was my nurse at Women & Infants," she continued. "You just can't trust anybody."
It is unclear what organization Tkacs coached with. However, CheerFactor, the gym where the Tkacs' daughter trains, wanted to make clear that she has never coached with them before.
"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," the gym told Channel 10 NBC News. "Her daughter is a participant, and that is her only affiliation with the program, as a parent of an all-star cheer athlete."
