When he pleaded guilty, Cummins cried and said, "I cannot be the man I need to be and not tell the truth," according to ABC News. "We are short on district judges and the current ones have full calendars," he said. The delay may have something to do with the court's schedule, a spokesperson for the U.S Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee told Newsweek. The obstruction of justice charge stems from actions he took to avoid being found.Īccording to the statement, he will be sentenced in late September. The former federal charge carries at least 10 years in prison but can also put someone away for life. The specific charges to which Cummins pleaded guilty were "transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual conduct" as well as obstruction of justice. Cummins and bringing closure to this case." "We now look forward to the sentencing of Mr. Attorney Don Cochran said in the district's statement. Missing Tennessee teen Elizabeth Thomas was recently found in California. Cummins' decision to plead guilty, we are pleased that the victim no longer faces the possibility of enduring a lengthy trial," U.S. Police tape blocks the street to an apartment building after a shooting incident in Hialeah, Florida, July 27, 2013. Courtesy Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS Tad Cummins pleaded guilty to abducting his 15-year-old student and transporting her across state lines to sexually assault her. When authorities found Thomas and Cummins last year following a nationwide search, Cummins was taken into federal custody, where he remains. Cummins was later suspended and then, on the day the Amber Alert was issued for Thomas, he was fired. Tad Cummins, a 50-year-old married teacher, who is a father and grandfather, said the sexual relationship with his 15-year-old former student began the first night after they disappeared March 13. A couple of months before they went missing, another student at Culleoka Unit School had spotted them kissing. The pair disappeared on March 13 and were found in a California cabin last April.Ĭummins, now 51, kidnapped Thomas as the local school board was investigating a relationship between the teacher and the student, which reportedly included sexual activity at the school. (TBI) Appearing alongside law enforcement. It took place on Thursday.Įlizabeth Thomas, then 15, was missing for about a month after Cummins abducted her from their Tennessee hometown. Police Issued an Amber Alert for Thomas & Cummins’ Wife Pleaded With Him to ‘Bring Beth Back Home’. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, which reported the plea. The former teacher from Columbia, Tennessee, will be sentenced later this year and faces at least 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Vicki BehringerĬummins and Elizabeth were discovered last Thursday in Cecilville, in remote northern California near the Oregon state line.Tad Cummins has pleaded guilty to kidnapping his teenage student, taking her across state lines and sexually assaulting her. District Court in Sacramento, California, on Monday. At both motels, they rented a room with a single bed, investigators made a point of saying. Instead, according to investigators, Cummins - toting two handguns, at least seven pills of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis and $4,500 from a loan he'd just taken out - picked up Elizabeth and headed for Oklahoma.Īuthorities learned that they had taken motel rooms in Oklahoma City on March 15 and 16 and in Guymon, Oklahoma, on March 16 and 17, according to the affidavit. According to a criminal affidavit filed in support of Cummins' arrest warrant, Tennessee investigators said Cummins - who'd already been suspended by Culleoka Unit School for disobeying orders to steer clear of Elizabeth - stole his wife's car on March 13, falsely told her he was going to Virginia to "clear his head" and asked her to forgive him.
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