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Lifetime's new movie Abducted by My Teacher will revisit the horrific true story of 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, who was abducted and subjected to s*xual abuse by her school teacher Tad Cummins. The film will not only recreate the events in sequential order but also bring to light details that are not yet known to the public regarding the case. It premieres on Saturday, August 12, at 8/7c. The official synopsis of the film, as per Lifetime, reads as:
"Elizabeth Thomas (Summer Howell) was just a 15-year-old high schooler who wanted to make friends when she caught the eye of Tad Cummins (Michael Fishman), a trusted, beloved and married high school teacher. He groomed Elizabeth for months to make her feel safe and loved, and ultimately coerced her to go on the run with him after another student reported seeing him kiss Elizabeth."
It further continues:
"Elizabeth’s abduction set off a nationwide manhunt and her over month-long ordeal ended when the pair was discovered in northern California and Cummins was arrested. After enduring sexual abuse at the hands of Cummins, Elizabeth was left to face those in her hometown who thought that she was responsible for her own kidnapping. Ultimately, Elizabeth bravely stood up in court and helped send the teacher she once trusted to prison."
According to Elizabeth's testimony in her court case, the s*xual abuse started in the spring of 2016. Tad Cummins had taken a liking to Elizabeth Thomas and had acted as a mentor to her. She would often open up to him about struggling with her studies and making friends and had been invited to after-class meetings with Cummins to talk about these issues.
However, she revealed that these 'meetings' were a facade for it was during those times that Cummins would 'groom' her. Things intensified when he made her enter his classroom closet where he "regularly" kissed and fondled her. These encounters continued until January 2017. During this time, however, Cummins's actions did not go unnoticed as the staff and students at the school were growing increasingly wary of their developing relationship.
A student at the school had even reported to the administration that she'd seen Cummins kissing Thomas and had asked to be removed from the class, however, shockingly the crime was not reported to the police. Due to the fear of his crimes being discovered, Cummins abducted Elizabeth Thomas in early March causing a nationwide manhunt for her that lasted a month.
Elizabeth Thomas was discovered in a remote shelter in Northern California
Jill Cummins, Tad's wife revealed numerous important details that helped the police discover the pair during a month-long investigation into the abductance. She revealed that prior to the disappearance Tad had taken a loan of $4,500. The bills had been taken from the bank after Tad had convinced the lenders that the money would be used in search of a new employment opportunity.
People revealed that this crucial detail helped the police track down the bill numbers using the national database to a Super 8 Motel in Oklahoma around March 15. It was from there that the police derived CCTV footage of the pair, however, due to the search result from the database having come days after the incident the police were unable to catch Tad Cummins. On April 1, it was also revealed that the bills were yet again used at a different Super 8 Motel on March 16.
Additionally, Jill Cummins also revealed to the police that days prior to his runaway Tad had refilled his prescription of a drug named Cialis, a medication that is used to treat erectile dysfunction and to prolong s*xual activity. This claim of hers pointed to the fact that Tad was about to indulge in s*xual activity with Elizabeth Thomas. It was further confirmed by the fact that CCTV footage of the pair had been released from a Walmart in Oklahoma where Tad had been spotted buying KY Jelly, a lube used for s*xual intercourse.
Elizabeth Thomas was finally discovered 38 days after her disappearance in a remote cabin in Northern California. The owner of the cabin, Griffin Barry, revealed in his testimony in court that Cummins had asked him to rent the cabin for a night. It was due to Barry's knowledge about the abduction case that he was immediately able to report the incident to the police and keep stalling Cummins until the police arrived.
In the eventual legal proceedings that followed, Tad Cummins was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the counts of s*xual assault and kidnapping. He continues to serve his sentence today.
Lifteime's Abducted by My Teacher premieres on August 12, 2023, at 8/7c.
