Tad Cummins was arrested last week for allegedly running off with 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, disappearing for more than a month. Now, his wife says that Cummins admitted to having sex with the girl. The bombshell interview could end up having legal ramifications, should Cummins face trial.
The story of Cummins’ and Thomas’ disappearance drew national attention, as sightings of Cummins and Thomas — including false alarms — made headlines. After five weeks, the Tennessee teen was located along with Cummins in California. The pair first disappeared after another student reported seeing Cummins kiss Thomas at school. In an interview with Inside Edition, Jill Cummins said that Tad called her from jail days after he was taken into custody. Jill said she asked her husband if he slept with Thomas, and claims he responded, “Yes I did.”
Tad Cummins is facing one federal count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity across state lines, that could land him in prison for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. A trial could prove interesting, being that under normal circumstances, there is a privilege that bars testimony from one spouse against another at a criminal trial. However, that privilege goes out the window if an otherwise confidential conversation between spouses was already revealed to a third party. Now that Jill Cummins has gone public in her interview, she and Tad may no longer have a spousal privilege when it comes to what she told the media.
While Tad Cummins may not like this, Jill Cummins might be totally fine with it. Jill filed for divorce from Tad after he vanished on March 13, and if her interview is any indication, Jill doesn’t appear to want to protect her him.
“He told me he loved me and to please forgive him,” Jill said, adding that at that moment she couldn’t say she loved him back. “I won’t let him hurt me like that again.”
[Image via screengrab]
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