Cheryl Burke Reveals She Was Molested By A Family Friend

Two-time Dancing With The Stars champ Cheryl Burke is best known for her amazing dance moves on the hit show, but the beauty has decided to come forward to get something off her chest: she was molested as a child.

In her new book Dancing Lessons Burke reveals she was repeatedly molested by a friend of her family's; a retired mailman who was trusted and well liked in Burkeâ€™s Bay Area community. Apparently the man would occasionally pick up young Burke from school and do odd jobs around her home. The assaults began when she was just 5.

The dancing queen explains:

"I'm telling my story. They're not secrets. There's no shame. I felt guilty for wanting his love and affection. Testifying against him was ... the hardest thing I've ever done ... I saw his face and lawyers were asking me these questions and I was like, 'What am I doing? Did he even do anything wrong?"

Burke actually testified against the former mailman in court, helping send him to prison for nearly 20 years, after he was accused of targeting other children.

So why is Burke revealing this horrible moment in her young life now? The gorgeous dancer explains: "If I can help just one person, for me that's all that matters."

Cheryl Burke started taking ballet lessons at age four, and she and started competing as a ballroom dancer at age 13. She opened a San Francisco dance studio in the former Metronome Ballroom on 17th Street in 2008, which closed this July, consolidating its operations with the larger Cheryl Burke Dance Studio in Mountain View. She also has a studio in Orange Countyâ€™s Laguna Niguel. Burke's memoir: Dancing Lessons: How I Found Passion and Potential on the Dance Floor and in Life will be released this Valentines Day.

Links: Cheryl Burke

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