While shopping Thursday I heard a store clerk tell a customer that Elizabeth Thomas, the 15-year-old TN girl abducted by school teacher Tad Cummins, was found with Cummins in a cabin in northern California. Then the clerk commented that of course Elizabeth went willingly.
Elizabeth is a 15-year-old girl. Tad Cummins is a 50 year old man.
What if I told you that last year Elizabeth’s mother was charged with abusing Elizabeth and her siblings? It’s true, and the kids were removed and placed with their father. Elizabeth was home-schooled while in her mother’s care so she didn’t have a lot of contact with the outside world. Now she was attending public school. Add all that to the chaos of puberty and even the most heartless bastard would have to admit this kid was vulnerable.
Tad Cummins saw she was ripe for the picking.
He groomed her. He took her to church. He treated her differently than the other students. He allowed her to come to his classroom at any time to talk. He listened and pretended to care.
An Amber Alert was issued, but many people didn’t take it seriously. We found out that the school administration didn’t take it seriously when a student claimed to have seen Cummins kiss Elizabeth.
It seems law enforcement didn’t take the case seriously either, because it was only after Elizabeth’s father had his attorney petition the court for permission to depose witnesses in the case that law enforcement began to share more information with the public.
And some in the media had to describe her demeanor when found. She didn’t SEEM to be forced to be there.
Many people decided Elizabeth went willingly, so what’s the big deal? Or worse, they painted the child as seductress that led her godly teacher astray.
Elizabeth isn’t the only female to have been vilified this week.
Last Sunday Steve Stephens walked up to Robert Godwin Sr. and told him to say Joy Lane. He then shot and killed Mr. Godwin. Stephens videotaped the murder and posted it to Facebook. Three days later he committed suicide after he was spotted by police.
It’s so unbelievable.
Stephens was reportedly cruel to animals. He had a gambling addiction. Ranted about Ms. Lane not calling him. Blamed a cold-blooded murder on her. But was it Ms. Lane’s fault he killed Mr. Godwin? Uh….. no.
But wait, there’s more!
It was learned this week that Utah judge Thomas Low said of a man who had just been convicted of molesting and raping two young women, “The court has no doubt that Mr. Vallejo is an extraordinarily good man…. But great men sometimes do bad things.” Judge Low then allowed the convicted man to walk out of the courtroom a free man while awaiting sentencing.
And in Memphis, defense attorney Steve Farese Sr. told a jury of 9 women and 3 men that his wealthy client, businessman Mark Giannini, was not guilty of rape and that the victim was lying. Said Farese, “Women can be especially good at it (lying) because they’re the weaker sex and we … and we want to protect them and not have anybody take advantage of them, at least I do.”
Doesn’t look like he gives a shit about protecting women from where I sit.
So what’s the moral of my angry rant? That no matter how cruel a man’s behavior, it will always somehow be a woman’s fault.
Even if that woman is really a 15-year-old girl.
Dogpaddling Through Life 
The greatest crime one can commit is to manipulate or abuse a child.
Or an animal of course.
I agree. It is wrong to manipulate anyone, but especially someone so vulnerable.
It’s heartbreaking that this girl didn’t have a proper, strong support system in place.
She had a strong family support, but she was vulnerable and her school didn’t seem to be on the ball.
We’ve had a similar (but different) case up here where foster children complained about a family abusing kids. It wasn’t taken seriously because the foster mom was a caseworker. She and her husband killed a young girl in a sexual fantasy. Breaks my heart.
When I worked CPS my mantra was that, as a rule, kids don’t lie about stuff like this, but, as a rule, adults don’t believe them.
The unfortunate part was that no one except the other foster kids believed her until she was dead and it wasn’t an easy death.
And yet no professional associates with the case faced charges, right? 😢
They are doing an investigation but as is the case, any results are buried somewhere so we don’t really know.
Those boys hang together. When I heard Elizabeth’s story I knew it would be blamed on her. I just didn’t know how much ignorance allowed it to happen, her case and the others. You’d think in this day and age we’d at least get this right, but the boys’ club is always a factor.
She has been victimized for much of her life and will continue to be. Her father seems to be a caring man and has been instrumental in keeping the public aware of his missing daughter. He’s said she will get all the help she needs.
The kind of post that takes all my words away. Wondering about the best steps I can take to empower more women and girls. Because we obviously can’t rely on the men in leadership to protect anyone except themselves.
We can start by talking about it. It amazes me how many times in my life I accepted misogyny as the way things are. No more.
Well said. “So what’s the moral of my angry rant? That no matter how cruel a man’s behavior, it will always somehow be a woman’s fault. Even if that woman is really a 15-year-old girl.”
She asked for it. She shouldn’t have been wearing that. She shouldn’t have been with him. We love to blame the victim, don’t we? But in the process we let the perpetrator off the hook.
Amen
I’ve often remarked to my sweet husband that misogyny is even more insidious than racism in the American culture. We see evidence of that all around us daily…and ignore it. xoM
Indeed we do.
its heart breaking and the trouble is I don’t think its going to get any better with your current government in charge its likely to get worse and that is extremely sad,xx Rachel
I couldn’t agree more with your “rant!” The Cleveland stations I watch did not play up the “her fault” aspect of the Easter shooting – in fact some mentioned the trauma it had to be causing the woman. Conversely, I only heard one report on the abusive mother of the girl who “ran off” with the teacher – but several reports of Mama’s tearful plea for her “baby to come home.” Admittedly, I don’t spend hours watching the TV news and even less time on the internet “news!”
I live in the town where they’re from so we got a little more info.
After being in education for nearly 40 years and working with children ages 3-22, there is a reason why there are middle schools and why young people cannot enter into contracts under the age of 18. Between middle school–an especially crazy time in a young person’s development, and a little after high school for some there is a lack of frontal lobe development. According to the National Library of medicine, “The frontal lobes, home to key components of the neural circuitry underlying ‘executive functions’ such as planning, working memory, and impulse control, are among the last areas of the brain to mature…” Add a lack of guidance by a responsible adult and you have a troubled child. It is pure evil for someone who understands, or should in our profession, the underdeveloped mind of a teenager to make a conscious decision to take advantage and manipulate that mind rather than give its owner proper guidance. Unfortunately the rape culture supports teenager/older man fantasies on the part of older men and holds that underdeveloped female brain partly responsible for a man’s failure to control his impulses. That is even worse than when males of that ilk hold those of us of age responsible for their lack of self-control.
Excellent points! I agree about the blaming of adult women for a man’s lack of self-control. We’re too demanding. We don’t appreciate them. We let ourselves go. It’s the same logic they use to marry a woman from another country and bring her to the US. And it’s the men and their mindset that’s the problem.
LOVE THIS! I agree with you 100%. Even if she went “willingly”, it does not change the fact that she is 15 years old. The world can be so cruel.
I don’t know how long Tad Cummins thought he was going to get away with this. He is a true pedophile and poses a threat to others. I hadn’t heard anyone say that the girl willingly joined him, but I’m not surprised some believe that. There are no real winners in this case. Even the girl will be scarred forever with memories of this fiasco.
Read comments below news articles about the abduction.
What is happening in our country is very scary. From the picture in Walmart it does look like she was with him willingly. Since I don’t know anything, I’m not judging
So you believe a 15 year old girl can give consent?
No eye-roll needed……in a few words. What a creeper! What’s wrong with people?
We had a very similar case to Elizabeth’s in England. A teacher ran away to France with a 15-year-old vulnerable girl he’d been grooming. Lots of people were sorry for the teacher when the police were hunting for them. When he was caught and sent to prison (not a long sentence) many people said it was all wrong as the girl was “willing” and “in love” with him. He was in his 30s, but, according to them, had been naive and weak. I don’t understand the way some people think.
They think a 30 year old man is naive but not a 15 year old girl? Wow. I don’t understand either.
Yep, there was quite a lot of support for him. The same people also thought the judge was making a mistake in not allowing her to see him in prison. They seemed to think that was cruel, without considering what was best for her.
At least the judge had some sense!
I was 17, he was 34. Left his wife and kid for me, then talked me into doing something I had serious mental issues about doing. It didn’t end well for anyone, and 27 years later he still stalks me online. Surprised like fuck he hasn’t figured out how to talk shit about me by chasing up the blogs I follow – because yeah, he figured out my anon thing years ago. Block, report, delete. Such fun.
That’s the worst part, isn’t it? These jerks are so full of themselves they never let it go.
I really don’t get it. It has to be a mental illness, because back when I was 34 there was NO WAY I would marry a 17 year old hot mess of a kid! To still blame me for everything seems so…awfully narcissistic. Especially after so long. I can only guess that I’ve gone on to have a decent life and he still lives with girlfriends in trailers. Jealousy, after this amount of time? Wow I musta been special as hell.
The case I mentioned is back in the news, as he is out of prison and she has given an interview to a magazine. Lots of people still don’t seem to understand the concept of adult responsibility and grooming.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4562748/Girl-fled-France-Jeremy-Forrest-speaks-out.html
Disgusting, the first one. Even if she was 26 and not 16, it is clear manipulation of someone who is vulnerable. I can’t even begin to imagine the mindset of anyone who thinks this was of her free choice.
I lived in, and quite liked, Cleveland. I feel so bad for Ms Lane – the hell she must be feeling from his act, and to be abused on top of that? I hope she is as strong as she must already be, to get rid of a man like him to begin this trail of horrors.
And fuck that guy who thinks we are weaker. Not for one second are we.
well said.
He’s a predator and she’s legally a child – so it doesn’t matter what she felt -(Police said the guy sound relieved when they found him. Wonder if she had become difficult as being on the run was less fun than it had sounded when he talked her into it.)
Her dad sounded like a solid guy.
The news here never took on the “:It’s her fault” track. Then again Equusearch and Tim Miller are located here, and we also have a big push to uncover and stop human trafficking – so often underage girls.
All I can say about “her fault” comments is that not long ago 15 ys was old enough to marry in several states. Some cultures here still think that although it’s not legal or encouraged by anyone. It’s a battle to keep those girls in school and moving to better things if the parents are totally fine with it.
What a muddle
Glad the kid’s back and hope she and dad are able to sort things out. Publicity makes it harder.