Soccer Coach Arrested On Four Sex Charges

George “Rico” Laise was a highly respected soccer coach in and around Nashville, TN, since the 1990s. Respected until he was arrested and charged with rape.

Initially Laise, 42, was charged by local law enforcement officials with four counts of rape after it was reported that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year old girl who was a player on one of the youth travel teams he had been coaching.

The girl told authorities that the sexual relationship began after she had sustained a concussion during a tournament in Las Vegas in February, 2012.

According to police warrants, Laise is charged with two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and two counts of rape involving a victim with a mental incapacity.

Since the initial charge was made, other underage girls are reported to have come forward saying Laise had also had inappropriate contact with them. A report by WSMV.com indicated that the second girl said that her relationship with Laise may have started when she was 14 years old.

Shortly after his arrest, Davidson County jail officials found Laise hanging in his cell. He was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and then transferred to the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute.

Laise, who is a native of Costa Rica, was a coach for Harpeth Hall, an all-girls school in Nashville. The girl who reported the relationship to authorities was not a Harpeth student. The school and the club he coached for, Tennessee Soccer Club, have both released statements saying that Laise had been terminated from his duties.

Laise was arrested on the Harpeth Hall campus where he was taking part in a summer soccer clinic.

Charges against Laise have been moved to the grand jury for consideration of formal charges.

In addition to coaching youth soccer, Laise also coached the Nashville Metros, a now defunct franchise in the USL Premier Develop League. He was the Metros head coach in 1999 and from 2007-2008.