Is Tad Cummins Guilty? Former Teacher Enters Plea In Elizabeth Thomas Kidnapping Case

Former high school teacher and accused kidnapper Tad Cummins pleaded not guilty to federal charges Friday. Cummins had previously been indicted on charges of transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual conduct and obstruction of justice in the kidnapping case of Elizabeth Thomas.

Cummins was scheduled to be arraigned later this week but waived his appearance when he entered the not guilty plea.

Read: Elizabeth Thomas Did Not Go Willingly With Tad Cummins, Family Attorney Says

Cummins, 50, was accused of kidnapping 15-year-old Elizabeth from Maury County, Tennessee in March. The two were missing for 38 days before authorities finally located them in a remote part of Northern California. According to testimony and court documents, Cummins attempted to take Elizabeth to Mexico by way of kayak while using fake identities.

The kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct charges stemmed from Elizabeth’s age: at 15, she could not consent to sexual activity or being transported across state lines. FBI agent Utley Noble testified that Cummins admitted he had sex with Elizabeth “most nights” while he was on the run and that their sexual relationship began the day they disappeared. His estranged wife, Jill Cummins, also confirmed that her husband told her he had sex with Elizabeth.

“I said, ‘Well, did you sleep with her?’ and he said, ‘Yes I did,’ and I didn’t want any details,” she said in an interview with Inside Edition shortly after her husband was arrested in April.

Authorities said they were working to determine whether Cummins would also be charged with statutory rape in the case, using forensic analysis to obtain evidence.

The obstruction of justice charge referred to Cummins destruction of both his and Elizabeth’s cell phones.

Cummins was previously Elizabeth’s teacher at Culleoka Unit School in Maury County before he and Elizabeth went missing. He was under investigation by authorities and school administrators after an unidentified student said she saw Cummins kiss Elizabeth inside his classroom. After Elizabeth left her family home March 13 and did not return, police immediately suspected Cummins.

“He was getting really close to her,” Cummins’ wife said during her appearance on Inside Edition. “A father-daughter close, a friendship close, and I knew that. I discussed that with him. And explained to him, ‘She’s your student, you can’t be so close to her. Never did I think there was a romantic thing between the two of them. There were no signs of that.”

Cummins lawyers argued that Elizabeth was not held against her will and that she fled willingly with Cummins. An attorney for the Thomas family, however, said the idea that Elizabeth left of her own accord was “amazingly absurd.”

Read: Tad Cummins Had Sex With Elizabeth Thomas ‘Most Nights’ During Alleged Kidnapping

Cummins was being held in federal custody after a judge ruled earlier in May that he was a flight risk and a danger to the community, citing his repeated attempts to evade authorities during the kidnapping.

“Here, the evidence of danger is substantial,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes when issuing the decision.

Should Cummins be convicted, he could face life in prison.