--- description: Cummins was accused of allegedly kidnapping then-15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas on March 13 title: Tad Cummins, Teacher Accused of Abducting Student, Indicted image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f66c2787ae6fc8c/6988ce0697cdff76b36b0ca4/ap_17111803962632.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Tennessee Former Teacher Accused of Abducting His Student to California Has Been Indicted by [Alexia Fernandez / PEOPLE](/author/people/) ## Alexia Fernandez / PEOPLE Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 19, 2017 1:53 AM CUT  In this April 20, 2017 photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is Tad Cummins. In this April 20, 2017 photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is Tad Cummins.Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office—AP by [Alexia Fernandez / PEOPLE](/author/people/) ## Alexia Fernandez / PEOPLE Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 19, 2017 1:53 AM CUT [Tad Cummins](http://people.com/crime/elizabeth-thomas-missing-teacher-tad-cummins-threatened-her/ "undefined"), the former high school teacher accused of abducting his former student from Tennessee to California, was indicted on Thursday on two federal charges. Cummins, 50, was indicted on a charge of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activities, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. He was also charged with destruction, alteration or falsification of records in a federal investigation, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years. The second charge is related to Cummins’ alleged destruction of two phones to impede the investigation. According to the Department of Justice, if he is convicted, Cummins could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of life. The DOJ had no additional comment. Cummins was [accused of allegedly kidnapping](http://people.com/crime/elizabeth-thomas-missing-teacher-tad-cummins-threatened-her/ "undefined") then-15-year-old [Elizabeth Thomas](http://people.com/crime/missing-tennessee-teen-high-school-teacher-groomed-her/ "undefined") on March 13\. Thomas [turned 16](http://people.com/crime/elizabeth-thomas-birthday-tennessee-teen-allegedly-kidnapped-teacher/ "undefined") on Wednesday. They were discovered on April 19 [in a remote cabin](http://people.com/crime/tad-cummins-elizabeth-thomas-cabin-inside-photos/ "undefined") near Cecilville, California, after a tipster saw the pair [and contacted authorities](http://people.com/crime/missing-tennessee-student-found-how-a-tip-led-to-her-discovery-in-remote-california-cabin/ "undefined"). They were missing for 38 days. Elizabeth was brought back to Tennessee and has since been [reunited with her family](http://people.com/crime/elizabeth-thomas-found-recovery-teacher-kidnapping/ "undefined"). _This_ [_story_](http://people.com/crime/tad-cummins-indicted/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_PEOPLE.com_](http://people.com "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4783888/tennessee-teacher-student-abduction-indicted/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4783888/tennessee-teacher-student-abduction-indicted/"},"headline":"The Tennessee Former Teacher Accused of Abducting His Student to California Has Been Indicted","datePublished":"2017-05-19T01:53:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:59:17.380Z","description":"Cummins was accused of allegedly kidnapping then-15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas on March 13","url":"https://time.com/4783888/tennessee-teacher-student-abduction-indicted/","keywords":["Crime","Tennessee","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f66c2787ae6fc8c/6988ce0697cdff76b36b0ca4/ap_17111803962632.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexia Fernandez / PEOPLE"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f66c2787ae6fc8c/6988ce0697cdff76b36b0ca4/ap_17111803962632.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tennessee Missing Girl","caption":"Tennessee Missing Girl","creditText":"Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4783888/tennessee-teacher-student-abduction-indicted/","name":"The Tennessee Former Teacher Accused of Abducting His Student to California Has Been Indicted"}}]}] ```