Tad Cummins' wife: He told me he slept with teen student, asked for forgiveness


The wife of a teacher accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old student says he told her they slept together.

Jill Cummins, who filed for divorce from Tad Cummins after he ran off with Elizabeth Thomas last month, revealed he called her from jail days after his arrest.

"I said, 'Well, did you sleep with her?' And he said, 'Yes I did,'" Jill said in an exclusive interview with Inside Edition's Diane McInerney. "And I didn't want any details, but I knew the truth. I just wanted to hear it from him to me."

Prior to Cummins' arrest, allegations surfaced that he'd filled a prescription for Cialis, an erectile dysfunction drug, while on the run with the teenager. He also allegedly rented a hotel room with a queen-sized bed.

On the phone call, he asked his wife for forgiveness, Jill said.

"It was very hard to hear his voice after all this time not knowing if I was going to hear it again," she said. "But he told me he was sorry. He told me he loved me and to please forgive him."

But Jill told him she couldn't say "I love you" back to him.

"I of course went into a rage of, 'Do you know what you've done to me? Do you know what you've done to your girls and your grandchildren?' He pretty much just over and over said, 'I'm sorry,'" she said.

He continues to call her from jail, Jill Cummins said, but she won't pick up the phone.

"I won't let him hurt me like that again," she said. "I will not let him betray me like that again. I won't give him the opportunity, ever again."

Tad Cummins vanished with Thomas on March 13. After five weeks, they were found at a remote cabin in Cecilville, Calif., after a tipster recognized them and called authorities.

Elizabeth was reunited with her family while Cummins was arrested. He appeared in court in Sacramento on Monday. He faces one federal count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity across state lines.

He has not entered a plea. He's expected to be transported to federal court in Tennessee.

He faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, if convicted.

Jill Cummins' interview with Inside Edition will air on Thursday and Friday. Check your local listings here.

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