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Woman tells details of 10 years in captivity

Since the day she ran away 10 years ago, Tanya Nicole Kach says her home was a bedroom she was rarely allowed to leave. A man more than twice her age kept her there, she says, where she had only a bucket for a bathroom.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Since the day she ran away 10 years ago, Tanya Nicole Kach says her home was a bedroom she was rarely allowed to leave. A man more than twice her age kept her there, she says, where she had only a bucket for a bathroom.

The two had met at her middle school, where they kissed in a stairwell when he caught her skipping class, according to a criminal complaint. A few months later they devised a plan for her to leave home, and when she moved in, a sexual relationship began, she told police.

On Tuesday, Kach left and told authorities her story — that Thomas John Hose kept her in his parents’ house since she was reported missing in eighth grade. As the years went by, she said, she started to believe her relationship wasn’t normal.

“He had a puppet, I’ve come to realize,” she told a television station.

Hose, 48, was charged with statutory sexual assault and three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse Wednesday. He was suspended without pay from the middle school where the two met and where he had continued to work as a security guard.

On Friday, an Allegheny County judge granted prosecutors’ request to keep Hose jailed until Monday, when a hearing on bond would be scheduled.

Hose’s attorney, Jim Ecker, said he had expected Hose to be released Friday. Ecker has said that Hose didn’t force Kach to live with him and that she was never held against her will. He declined to comment further Friday.

Kach said she lived in Hose’s home with his parents and his son, who is two years younger than her, but that the parents didn’t know she was there. She said she remained in Hose’s room until about 2000, then was allowed to leave only when his parents were not home.

Sex on the calendar
She told police that Hose had her record their sessions in a calendar book so “he could brag to co-workers and friends of him engaging sex and how often,” according to the complaint.

About 10 months ago, Hose devised a plan for her to change her identity and her name to Nikki Allen, she said. Hose told his parents his new girlfriend Nikki was moving in, Kach said. She was allowed to go to church and venture out during the day, she said, but soon realized her living situation was not normal.

“I was scared. ... I came to realize other people’s relationships weren’t like that. I had to be home at 2 p.m. everyday, be at home by 8:30,” Kach told KDKA-TV.

Hose told people she was a year older than her actual age, she said.

“He let me keep my birthday. I got to celebrate my birthday on my birthday,” Kach said.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old Kach walked into a neighborhood deli and told the owner her true identity. The deli owner called his son — a retired police officer who recognized Kach’s name — and a missing children hot line.

Kach was reunited with her father, Jerry Kach, on Tuesday. Jerry Kach’s wife, Jo-Ann Kach, said Thursday that Tanya had been a habitual runaway, and attributed that to Kach’s divorce and integrating his family with hers.

Hose’s attorney, Jim Ecker, said Hose wouldn’t speak to the media. An AP reporter knocked on Hose’s door Thursday, but was told to leave the property.

James Warman, 53, who lives on the same street, said Thursday he never saw Kach until about eight months ago. He said she was a sweet girl who would talk with people in the neighborhood, but would hurry home in the early afternoon, before Hose got home from work.

“I don’t want to say ‘nice guy,’ but that’s what he seemed like. But now, you’ve got to look at him in a different light,” she said.