

Cummins had asked for the minimum sentence of 10 years. District Judge Aleta Trauger acknowledged that Cummins committed a “pretty despicable crime” but said there were also mitigating factors, including that he had no criminal record, that he was unlikely to reoffend, and that he promptly admitted to his crime and pleaded guilty. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. District Judge Aleta Trauger, according to emails from a spokesman for the U.S.

In arguing for a stiff sentence, Meyers focused on the preparation that Cummins put into his flight with the girl, including taking his wife’s car, which he thought would be less conspicuous than his own filling a prescription for an erectile dysfunction drug and taking out a loan so that he could pay for everything in cash. Tad Cummins, 52, was sentenced in federal court in Nashville by U.S. The statement also said the girl was convinced Cummins would have eventually discarded her had he not been captured near a remote California cabin in April 2017 after a national manhunt.

The victim’s statement said Cummins saw “a broken girl who was lonely, scared and traumatized.” She needed protection, the statement said, but Cummins only wanted sex. Tad Cummins wept in court on Thursday as the former Tennessee teacher pleaded guilty to having sex with his teenage student and taking her across state lines, triggering a headline-grabbing nationwide manhunt last spring. In arguing for a stiff sentence, Meyers focused on the preparation that Cummins put into his flight with the girl, including taking his wife's car, which he thought would be less conspicuous than his own filling a prescription for an erectile dysfunction drug and taking out a loan so that he could pay for everything in cash.“What you did to me was unspeakable,” Meyers read. Tad Cummins, 52, was sentenced in Nashville after pleading guilty to charges of obstruction and transportation of a minor across state lines for the purposes of having criminal sexual intercourse. The victim's statement said Cummins saw "a broken girl who was lonely, scared and traumatized." She needed protection, the statement said, but Cummins only wanted sex. "What you did to me was unspeakable," Meyers read.

Attorney Sara Beth Meyers read the girl's statement. After a discussion with the prosecutor and the judge, Assistant U.S. The victim was in the federal courtroom in Nashville, but when the time came for her to speak, she did not come forward. Tad Cummins was arrested and detained and was eventually sentenced to a twenty. Prosecutors had asked for a 30-year sentence after Cummins pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines for sex and obstructing justice. The police were on the pair's trail for 38 days before the owner of the remote cabin reported Cummins to the police. He took on the role of Elizabeth’s mentor and guide, although people believed he was gradually grooming the young teenager to serve his ulterior motives. A Tennessee teacher who was on the run for weeks with a 15-year-old student was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison.Ī statement from the victim called 52-year-old Tad Cummins "disgusting" and said the effects of his actions on her were "devastating and permanent." Reports mentioned that prior to Elizabeth Thomas’ disappearance in March 2017, the 15-year-old had gotten pretty close to Tad Cummins, and the pair would spend a whole lot of time together.
