What's Next For Tad Cummins? Elizabeth Thomas' Kidnapper Has Teaching License Revoked

Tad Cummins, the 50-year-old Tennessee teacher who is awaiting trial in the kidnapping of his student Elizabeth Thomas, had his teaching license revoked over the weekend. The Tennessee Board of Education banned Cummins for the teaching profession for life.

Cummins, who is charged with transporting a minor across state lines where he allegedly engaged in criminal sexual conduct with the teenager and also caused obstruction of justice, will face trial in January. The trial was initially set for July 25 but after a request from Cummins' lawyer, the judge in the case pushed the trial to next year in order to allow the defense to conduct additional research and investigation in the case.

Read: Tad Cummins Trial In Elizabeth Thomas Kidnapping Case Delayed Until January 2018

The suspension came months after Maury County Schools reported the teacher to the state board for insubordination in February recommending he be suspended as a result of continued contact with the minor girl. Despite the complaint, Cummins’ teaching license was not suspended until now.

“[Cummins] was notified by certified mail of the board’s intent to revoke his license based upon these findings and of his right to a hearing,” the board said last week, about its impending decision, according to The Tennessean. “[Cummins] received notice but did not request a hearing.”

Cummins, who taught at Culleoka Unit School, allegedly kidnapped Elizabeth in March, forcing authorities to issue an Amber Alert and launch a nationwide manhunt to arrest the accused. After a month-long search, Cummins and the girl were found in April in a remote area of northern California following a tip to police.

Cummins was arrested April 20, but he pleaded not guilty to charges against him. If convicted, Cummins could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, up to life.

While Elizabeth's family awaited the trial, Cummins' lawyer claimed that the teenager was not held against her will and that she fled her home willingly with her former teacher.

Rumors of romance about the two surfaced after an unidentified student reported seeing the two kissing in a classroom before they went missing in March.

An attorney for the Thomas family, called the idea of Elizabeth willingly going with Cummins as “amazingly absurd.”

Read: Elizabeth Thomas-Tad Cummins Facts

"She is 15, a child. He is 50, a grown man. She's a high school freshman. He's a former teacher. This is, and was, not a romance," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Director Mark Gwyn told reporters in April. "This was manipulation solely to benefit Tad Cummins. This is not a fairy tale. This is a case of kidnapping."

Cummins’ estranged wife Jill also told Inside Edition in April that he admitted having sex with the minor. Cummins' wife filed for divorce just days after she learnt that Cummins might be involved in the kidnapping of his minor student.