Cheryl Burke Recalls Testifying in Court at Age 9 Against Caretaker Who Sexually Abused Her: 'They Wouldn't Even Let My Mom Come'

Cheryl Burke is opening up about a tough moment from her childhood.

The Dancing with the Stars alum, 40, recalled how she and her step-sister were molested by a family friend growing up during an appearance on the latest episode of the Oldish podcast. As Burke detailed how the abuse was exposed, she also recalled that at a very young age, she had to take the stand in court at her abuser’s trial. 

“Both of us were getting sexually molested by the same person, the caretaker that was taking care of us,” she said. “And then it was my sister’s best friend that ran home and told her mother. It was the reason why he was sentenced — he was supposed to be life in prison, but he got out. And I testified in court when I was 9 years old.”

“I almost was already gaslighting myself,” she admitted. “I’ll never forget it when I was actually testifying with this man sitting in front of me. They wouldn’t even let my mom come with me, which was so crazy. I was 9. And I was thinking to myself, ‘Am I making this s— up?’ I was literally saying saying this to myself.”

Unable to process the trauma, Burke said she internalized her emotions, which led to unhealthy thoughts.

“I already felt, at 9 years old, like, I was the pedophile,” she revealed. “That’s how they made me feel.”

She later added: “The quiet version of me was dangerous because the voices in my head got louder.”

When asked by podcast hosts Randy Spelling, Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess how that difficult time in her life has impacted her now, Burke joked she is a “professional disassociator.” The podcaster also said she has moved forward.

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I’m done with that part of my life,’” she explained. “But I have done so much work to where I couldn’t handle the anger I had for this one person that I felt like I was slowly dying, so there had to be some sort of peacemaking happening. Not the forgiveness of the act by any means, but I had to create some sort of, like, ‘Okay, this man was sick.’”

“But I’m not forgiving,” she clarified. “I don’t want people to take this the wrong way, like I’m forgiving him for molesting.”

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Looking back, Burke said her journey to healing began when she found out her abuser had other underaged victims as well.

“It wasn’t just me,” she noted. “A whole bunch of kids came out, and that was when I stopped the gaslighting and all of it.”

Still, Burke said she understands that not everyone is able to have the experience she did.

“It’s society today, man,” Burke continued. “It’s just getting worse when it comes to… like, why would anyone ever wanna come out and say their truth when the person who’s the victim is feeling like they’re doing something wrong? And it’s so easy to gaslight somebody and this whole statute of limitations. It’s all bulls— because it takes decades, if not lifetimes, to finally realize or have some sort of awareness that, ‘Yeah, maybe I did get raped.’” 

“There was no quick fixes to any of this,” she continued. “There’s none. And I don’t wanna even have that come across by any means. There’s no medication. There’s no shrooms. Believe me, I’ve tried it all. And it just comes back tenfold unless you do the work, and boy it doesn’t hurt. It’s painful. This work is painful.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.