TENNESSEE (via JACKSON CO.)—All too often, people attracted to folks too young for them will find jobs within a profession that takes them close to those young people.
George “Rico” (Suave?) Laise, pre-hanging
And the case we’re about to discuss here is no exception.
The photo here is of George “Rico” Laise, a 46-year-old soccer coach who used to work here in southern Illinois (Jackson County; specifically, Carbondale, mid-to-late 90s).
Rico Suave is in the news because Wednesday morning (June 6, 2013), he was found hanging in his cell in Nashville, Tennessee. He was in a cell because a week ago Tuesday (May 28, 2013), he’d been arrested on charges of having sexual relationships with a student, although not one at the college preparatory school in Nashville where he has most recently been working as a soccer coach, Harpeth Hall; police are investigating that, as you’ll see here shortly.
The suicide attempt was unsuccessful; he was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (nothing but the finest for Davidson County inmates, apparently) and was being treated when the news filtered its way up here to his former stomping grounds.
The actual charges in Davidson County reflect that he began a relationship with a 16-year-old in March of 2012 after she suffered a concussion during a soccer game in Las Vagas. She herself wasn’t a Harpeth Hall girl, was was on a “separate traveling team” that he coached. This alleged affair continued through to this April and occurred mostly at his home in Nashville. Resultant of this “affair,” he’s been charged with two counts of Rape Involving a Victim with a Mental Incapacity (no one’s saying what her “mental incapacity” was; but this makes the charge all the more egregious) and two counts of Statutory Rape. It’s nice to see that those in the state of Tennessee aren’t coddled when they are accused of committing such acts; the word “rape” doesn’t appear in Illinois’ lexicon of law, and so “sexual assault” or “sexual abuse” kind of diminishes these acts between adults and non-consenting children…but that’s just our opinion on the matter.
Anyway, officials in Nashville are saying that he may have had other victims—as many as four others in “surrounding counties” according to claims of the girls in questions—and are asking people to come forward and call the Sex Crimes Unit at 615-862-7540. Who knows; he may still have contact with people in southern Illinois and they may be fully aware of an illicit “relationship” he may have been having right there in Nashville, as often these types of folks just can’t keep it to themselves. There’s nothing to indicate yet that he was allegedly messing with any of his own students; but of course, officials aren’t discounting that possibility.
But the greater story is that here we have yet another guy with an unhealthy appetite for “relationships” with people entirely too young for them who has found employment in a field that takes him in direct contact with this age group/gender he’s attracted to. Do you think our schools and sports programs are doing enough to prevent this kind of perversion? What do you think can be done any further….if anything at all?