Found Safe TN - MCET, 15, Abducted by Teacher, in Maury County, 13 March 2017 #18 *ARREST*

[KaaBoom]

Wondering what a jury will do if she refuses to testify against him. Can she be considered a hostile witness?

From what has been reported, I think if she testifies she will be a witness for the defence.

 

[KaaBoom]

I still think Tad is going to plea guilty. His delusional fantasy has blown up in this face and has hurt/destroyed so many people. I hope he says 'guilty', lead me to prison and let the world forget I exist (at least for the next 10 or so years).

Don't put your victims through any more hell, Tad.

Also, lock up KT. She does not deserve to be free.

I think the prosecutors are going to plea bargain with him. Because if this case goes to trial, it will be a mess for the prosecution.

 

[Kensie]

I think the prosecutors are going to plea bargain with him. Because if this case goes to trial, it will be a mess for the prosecution.

Just curious, but what messes for the prosecution??? I always thought the defense would have nightmare of messes. Anyway, I don't know anything but I am interested in the prosecution messes.

 

[gypsysoul]

As I pointed out yesterday, they were not well-off prior to TC taking the $4500 loan.

JC was wise to file for divorce quickly to protect what little assets she has. I was thinking that if she asks for alimony, which she should be entitled to after 30 years of marriage (not sure about Tennessee laws) the court can take it out of his half of the proceeds of the sale of the house. I'm sure her attorney is all over that. I'm still wondering what she is driving today. I hope she sold the Jeep and got a shiny new car for herself.

BBM

I drove by this afternoon and the jeep is still parked in the drive way. I wish she would sell it.

 

[Milenalee]

The impression i am getting is Tad is gross and wrong for what he did. There is still a very strong anti-ET, especially after the recent runaway who committed murder. Support for the family is turning into skepticism and close to being a witch hunt. And plan to see more from Paige.

I get the impression from some very chatty Facebook sites that have people from there that it's the Thomas family in general that is strongly disliked. Probably the mom set the stage or spread stories about the Dad. A woman who reportedly went to goodwill to get a brace etc to gain sympathy is not very reliable. Just speculation.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[KaaBoom]

Just curious, but what messes for the prosecution??? I always thought the defense would have nightmare of messes. Anyway, I don't know anything but I am interested in the prosecution messes.

Maybe a victim testifying in support for the defendant. What if ET testifies that TC didn't want to do it , but she persuaded him to help her run away? Top that off with other TC supporters, his family testifying about what a great guy he is. Almost anything could happen if this goes to trial.

 

[Milenalee]

This case definitely bothers me. I even woke up this morning thinking 'would I have been ready for marriage at age 15'. It was an absolutely ludicrous thought to me! Others claim to have been ready at 15. So not me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Slightly off topic, a study found 52 percent teen marriages last more than ten years. So those women would probably say they were ready.But women over 24 are more likely to make it past the 10 year mark. 48 percent of marriages where the bride is under 18 fail before ten years, only 24 percent of marriages by women over 24 fail to make ten years:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/fashion/04marriage.html


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Milenalee]

Maybe a victim testifying in support for the defendant. What if ET testifies that TC didn't want to do it , but she persuaded him to help her run away? Top that off with other TC supporters, his family testifying about what a great guy he is. Almost anything could happen if this goes to trial.

For the federal charges it doesn't matter that much. Even if she wanted to go he shouldn't have taken her without permission. And his intent for sex and crossing of state lines is clear v


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Kapua]

Slightly off topic, a study found 52 percent teen marriages last more than ten years. So those women would probably say they were ready.But women over 24 are more likely to make it past the 10 year mark. 48 percent of marriages where the bride is under 18 fail before ten years, only 24 percent of marriages by women over 24 fail to make ten years:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/fashion/04marriage.html


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks, that was an interesting article, and IMHO, not out of context considering that the Cummins' were teens when they married, TC searched teen marriage on the internet, and ET posted "Wife" on her SM.

 

[Gardenista]

Possible New Charges For Tad Cummins Linked To Phone Call Evidence

The plan has been to use Cummins' own alleged words to pursue a new charge of statutory rape. That will be paired with whatever police learn from the teenage victim.

"They are interviewing her and doing forensic analysis to see if they get evidence and get her side of the story, and from that side of the story, you could see more crimes charged in this case and submitted to the grand jury on down the road," said NewsChannel 5 Legal Analyst Nick Leonardo.

District Attorney Brent Cooper said he stands ready now to move on statutory rape charges, and that may come soon.

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/lo...for-tad-cummins-linked-to-phone-call-evidence

 

[KaaBoom]

For the federal charges it doesn't matter that much. Even if she wanted to go he shouldn't have taken her without permission. And his intent for sex and crossing of state lines is clear v

That will be for a jury to decide. In my opinion it would be about a 50/50 chance either way how they would decide. This case sounds like a prosecutor's worst nightmare.

 

[Gardenista]

That will be for a jury to decide. In my opinion it would be about a 50/50 chance either way how they would decide. This case sounds like a prosecutor's worst nightmare.

I literally LOL'd

 

[Mom24]

That will be for a jury to decide. In my opinion it would be about a 50/50 chance either way how they would decide. This case sounds like a prosecutor's worst nightmare.

This is a true slam dunk. The charges are taking a minor across state lines for the intent of having sex. Was ET with TC when she was found? Yes. Was ET outside of the state of TN? Yes. Was there a sexual relationship? Yes. So we have the proof of a minor, in the company of a person who provided her transportation outside of the state of TN (ET didn't pick him up hitchhiking on the side of the road) and having sexual relations really shows intent. What anyone feels about why she went or whether she went willingly or not is a moot point, that's not the question.

 

[LaneGirl]

This is a true slam dunk. The charges are taking a minor across state lines for the intent of having sex. Was ET with TC when she was found? Yes. Was ET outside of the state of TN? Yes. Was there a sexual relationship? Yes. So we have the proof of a minor, in the company of a person who provided her transportation outside of the state of TN (ET didn't pick him up hitchhiking on the side of the road) and having sexual relations really shows intent. What anyone feels about why she went or whether she went willingly or not is a moot point, that's not the question.

I hope you are right.

If there is anything I've learned it's that nothing is a slam dunk

 

[Alethea]

That will be for a jury to decide. In my opinion it would be about a 50/50 chance either way how they would decide. This case sounds like a prosecutor's worst nightmare.

Jurors receive a detailed set of jury instructions that outline each element of the crimes charged and ask for their verdict on each one. They aren't asked generally if they think the person is guilty or not. In this case, there are crimes without an intent requirement- it wouldn't matter what the defense came up with if the prosecution established the facts of the act. Statutory rape, for example- the charge is a person over the age of 18 engaging in sexual acts with a minor (some states drill down on the age of the minor). There's no consent defense.

Unrelated, but based on the article that was just posted about Tad's cell phone, I bet they are putting together child *advertiser censored* charges too. That's another charge where there is no consent defense.

 

[Alethea]

Related but not really related, you can have the rare case of jury nullification where a juror refuses to convict despite the evidence in a protest of the law. In practice this rarely if ever happens- jurors go through voir dire where each side can toss jurors, and both sides are on the lookout for any odd behavior throughout the trial.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KaaBoom]

I hope you are right.

If there is anything I've learned it's that nothing is a slam dunk

Exactly, O. J. Simpson, Oregon standoff trial, etc. etc. etc. and those cases where a thousand times stronger than the case against TC. This case doesn't even have a cooperative victim.

 

[Jennifer17]

I was a juror in a case something like this where people attitudes come into the mix and the judge gave us very detailed explanations of how we were to decide on the charges. No personal opinions about the laws that were broken should enter into the discussion we had, no moral judgements of the victim (underaged) were to be discussed, no 'what if she' scenarios should be considered.
We were to look at the charge and compare it to the relevant law and decide, yes, he did, or no, he did not, do that.

But...............we still had one juror who kept bringing those things up and once when I said 'The judge told us that we were not to talk about that', he answered, 'You don't know what some of these young girls are like'.

I really wanted to ask him, how he knew, what those young girls are like.

 

[Alethea]

Exactly, O. J. Simpson, Oregon standoff trial, etc. etc. etc. and those cases where a thousand times stronger than the case against TC. This case doesn't even have a cooperative victim.

Those cases didn't involve strict liability crimes though.

 

[KaaBoom]

Related but not really related, you can have the rare case of jury nullification where a juror refuses to convict despite the evidence in a protest of the law. In practice this rarely if ever happens- jurors go through voir dire where each side can toss jurors, and both sides are on the lookout for any odd behavior throughout the trial.

How common is it for people to be convicted, when the victim doesn't want to cooperate? It seems to me that if this was an ordinary case, the charges would be dropped immediately, if the victim didn't want to cooperate.