A reckoning for Thomas J. Hose, the former school security guard accused of keeping Tanya Kach under his sway for a decade, will have to wait until at least May following the revelation yesterday morning that he was hospitalized from self-inflicted wounds shortly before his trial was to start.

	Thomas J. Hose

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John A. Zottola ordered that Mr. Hose, 49, be committed to Mayview State Hospital for evaluation of his competency to stand trial. He set a new trial date of May 14.

Judge Zottola also revoked Mr. Hose's bond, issued an arrest warrant for his failure to appear in court and imposed a gag order in the case, citing concerns about information that appeared recently in the media about a possible plea bargain.

Mr. Hose faces numerous sex and child endangerment charges for launching a sexual relationship with Miss Kach in 1996 when she was a 14-year-old runaway. He is 24 years her senior.

Miss Kach, 25, has told authorities that her onetime lover psychologically dominated her and threatened to kill her during a decade she spent living covertly in the McKeesport home Mr. Hose shares with his parents.

With Miss Kach's father and stepmother standing in the hallway outside Judge Zottola's courtroom, Mr. Hose's attorney, James Ecker, addressed the media in response to queries about the whereabouts of his client.

Reporters were awaiting word either of a plea bargain or the beginning of jury selection. They got something unexpected.

Mr. Ecker said he received a call around 7 a.m. from Mr. Hose's mother, Eleanor, stating that her son was sitting in a kitchen chair bleeding.

"He said he had stabbed himself and taken pills," Mr. Ecker said.

Mrs. Hose declined comment yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Ecker did not have any information about the pills, and Judge Zottola later clarified that the six or seven stab wounds to the abdomen were superficial.

Paramedics took Mr. Hose to Mercy Hospital. The hospital would not release information about him.

Mr. Hose had been on house arrest at his Soles Street residence after posting $10,000 bond in March. Mr. Ecker said his client seemed fine during several phone conversations Sunday, but was "out of it" during three conversations yesterday -- two by phone before paramedics arrived to treat Mr. Hose, and one in person at the emergency room. McKeesport police refused to provide any information about the incident, citing the gag order.

In court, Mr. Ecker asked the judge to issue the gag order. Judge Zottola complied, saying that he had received calls from reporters who had information about the status of plea agreements of which he was unaware.

Judith C. Sokol, 58, of Duquesne, also was scheduled to go to trial yesterday on sex and child endangerment charges for her alleged role in hiding Miss Kach and facilitating the relationship between her and the former guard. Her new trial date is also May 14. Miss Kach has testified that Ms. Sokol, a hairdresser who was friendly with Mr. Hose, changed her appearance to hide her identity and allowed sexual encounters to take place in her home even though she knew Miss Kach was a minor.

Mr. Ecker and Angela Carsia, who is representing Ms. Sokol, declined to discuss any plea agreement. The district attorney's office also would not comment.

Attorney Lawrence Fisher, who is representing Miss Kach in a federal civil suit against several McKeesport institutions and individuals, told news media that the district attorney's office has been trying to work out a plea.