Tanya Nicole Kach

Tanya Nicole Kach (born October 14, 1981) is an American woman who was held captive for ten years by a security guard at the school she attended. Thomas Hose, her captor, eventually pled guilty to statutory rape and other related offenses and was sentenced to five to fifteen years in prison. Tanya Kach's recollection of events Captivity: Thomas Hose was a security guard at Cornell Middle School, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, where Kach was a student. Hose befriended Kach, often taking her out of classes to talk to her and one day when he caught her skipping class, he kissed her. Over time, Hose convinced Kach to run away from her family and move in with him, which she did in February 1996. For the first four years, she was not allowed out of the house. Hose lived with his parents and son and went to great lengths to keep Kach hidden from them. She was confined to his second story bedroom all day and had to go to the toilet in a bucket. In 2000, Hose created a new identity for Kach, "Nikki Allen", and introduced her to his parents as his girlfriend who would be moving in with them. After this, she was occasionally allowed to leave the house but had a strict curfew. Six years later she escaped. Escape and later life: After being allowed some time outside of the house, Kach with time realized that her relationship with Hose was not normal. She escaped from captivity with the help of Joe Sparico, a grocery store owner in her neighborhood, by revealing her true identity to him and asking him to send police to the house. Kach was happy to be reunited with her family, but has since then become estranged from her father. Since her escape, Kach is now engaged and is now a step-mother to her fiancé's daughter and son. Controversy: Tanya's recollection of events has been challenged by Hose, Hose's family, Hose's neighbours, and local shop keepers. Hose, who was in love with Kach, maintains that Kach's decision to move in with him was always her idea. She told Hose that she was being abused by her step-mother, which both her father and step-mother deny. Kach was known to local police as a 'troubled teen', and had run away from home and truanted from school numerous times before resulting in police reports being filed on 4 separate occasions. Hose alleged she had asked him to let her move in with him as she did not feel safe at home. Kach was due to appear in court to be made a ward of state just 10 days after running away to Hose's house. The petition to make her a ward of state by Kach's parents was because she was a "violent," "completely uncontrollable," and a "compulsive liar," and her parents could no longer deal with her. Hose stated that she was never made to remain in the house and, after dying her hair, would frequently leave the house, play in the yard, and go to the shops. Hose's parents reported knowing her for "years" as Tom's girlfriend Nikki. Hose's parents also agreed she frequently left the house, helped make the dinner with them, and appeared "very happy". Hose's neighbours and local shop keepers all agreed they knew her well saw her regularly outside of the house and introduced herself as "Nikki, Tom Hose's girlfriend". Kach's account of the abuse she stated she suffered at the hands of Hose grew increasingly elaborate in progressive interviews with police as "extra details" were remembered. Numerous police detectives and psychologists have stated this is typical with fraudulent allegations. In 2011, Hose plead guilty to charges of statutory rape and other charges relating to having sex with a minor. No charges relating to kidnap or false imprisonment were ever brought against him. Since her escape, Tanya has attempted to sue numerous government organisations for their failing of her, including the police and school board. All have been thrown out of court. She has also written a New York Times Bestselling book entitled Memoir of a Milk Carton Kid: The Tanya Nicole Kach Story. (Tate Publishing, 2011, ISBN 978-1613467596).