Found Safe TN - Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas, 15, Maury County, 13 March 2017 #11

[KaaBoom]

The one thing I absolutely fault the school for is not informing ET's father immediately that they were investigating TC and why. It took them a week. That is inexcusable, IMHO.
:cow:

The school has admitted that they made that error, and have taken steps to correct it. People make mistakes. They always will. Regardless, what would be different if the school had notified him sooner? Nothing really. The father knew about the situation for six weeks, and could do nothing to prevent this from happening. What difference would an extra week have made?

 

[Mom24]

I guess I ask why is a high school student sleeping in school on a school day?
I know kindergartners can get nap time but that is not right, and allowing a student to do it is not right, but likely it was part of the grooming,

It's not unusual. No they don't have nap times, but if a child is overtired or not feeling well (female issues for example) they will often go to the nurses station and catch a quick nap. The students today are under so much more pressure than we were at that age, some are homeless, some are working nights while going to school during the day, some are involved in so many extracurricular activities that they're not getting more than a couple hours of night sleep. It's not uncommon to see a student take a nap in the library on a couch between classes. High Schools have changed dramatically since I was there.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

As a minor, her parents or guardians should have been informed. The school apparently tried to sweep the incident under the rug until LE stepped in and alerted her father.

The sheriff's deputies showed up to the house to question the father, according to the father. Now, don't you think it's possible that the school is the entity that got LE involved in the first place?

Like I said, there's a lot more to this story than what we are hearing, imo.

 

[Mom24]

The school has admitted that they made that error, and have taken steps to correct it. People make mistakes. They always will. Regardless, what would be different if the school had notified him sooner? Nothing really. The father knew about the situation for six weeks, and could do nothing to prevent this from happening. What difference would an extra week have made?

We'll never know what he may have done had he known sooner, we can't predict it. Maybe he would have taken more action sooner, perhaps his radar would have gone up faster. Maybe it took him time to find out all the facts, and those facts would have been accessible to him quicker. We'll just never know because the school denied him information he needed to keep his child safe from a predator.

 

[bears10]

It's not unusual. No they don't have nap times, but if a child is overtired or not feeling well (female issues for example) they will often go to the nurses station and catch a quick nap. The students today are under so much more pressure than we were at that age, some are homeless, some are working nights while going to school during the day, some are involved in so many extracurricular activities that they're not getting more than a couple hours of night sleep. It's not uncommon to see a student take a nap in the library on a couch between classes. High Schools have changed dramatically since I was there.

I was in high school about 12ish years ago and I can say we absolutely were never allowed to take a nap in the nurses office if we had cramps or were just plain tired. My step daughter is a freshman and I can also assure you she is not allowed to nap. If you are sick you go to the nurse, maybe lay down and wait for your parents to pick you up. But taking a nap is not okay. At least where I'm from. If you are so tired the nurse will call your parents, who will likely tell you to suck it up and nap when you get home. For that matter, my school would actually drug test anyone who put their head down on the desk or attempted to nap in class. Just my opinion and experience.

 

[BIC]

It was a while before she had a bed at home and was sleeping on the couch. Maybe she wasn't sleeping well.

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I'm done with blaming the school, that will come after ET goes home but what you just said there, to me, makes sense of TC's search about beds that fit in a Rogue. Another ploy to make her feel loved, like don't worry I won't make you sleep in anything but a bed. Interesting IMHO

 

[KaaBoom]

We'll never know what he may have done had he known sooner, we can't predict it. Maybe he would have taken more action sooner, perhaps his radar would have gone up faster. Maybe it took him time to find out all the facts, and those facts would have been accessible to him quicker. We'll just never know because the school denied him information he needed to keep his child safe from a predator.

He had six weeks to deal with the situation. If that was not enough time, then it's unlikely seven weeks would have made a difference.

 

[Deleted member 172065]

Thank you. Can we put it to rest that THE SCHOOL FAILED THIS CHILD!?!?

Seems like someone should have noticed something was amiss with his private times with Destinay and Elizabeth. But then again he was 50 with a good reputation.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

Also...let's remember that we don't know that CPS isn't involved here. Just because no one has told us that, doesn't mean that that isn't the case. In fact, I would be shocked if they weren't involved, given ET's history.

 

[KKearns]

Also...let's remember that we don't know that CPS isn't involved here. Just because no one has told us that, doesn't mean that that isn't the case. In fact, I would be shocked if they weren't involved, given ET's history.

But if CPS was involved then the father would have known before the police told him a week later.

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[Mom24]

The sheriff's deputies showed up to the house to question the father, according to the father. Now, don't you think it's possible that the school is the entity that got LE involved in the first place?

Like I said, there's a lot more to this story than what we are hearing, imo.

I'm not sure who notified the authorities. I believe I read somewhere that it was Love, but I'm not sure. The issue is, the school was also bound to report the incident to the father as well. They didn't. I'm not sure that it was sweeping it under the rug, but they definitely were derelict in their duties. There are reasons that parents are notified and we're seeing why that is. It sounded like, from the parent of the child who reported it, that the child notified the school and was questioned by the school first. Then at some later date, an officer came to the school to question the child again.

 

[Mom24]

He had six weeks to deal with the situation. If that was not enough time, then it's unlikely seven weeks would have made a difference.

That's crystal ball theory.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

But if CPS was involved then the father would have known before the police told him a week later.

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I'm not going to share my thoughts on a lot of this, for reasons that, I hope, would be obvious. I don't think we know a lot of the facts of this case. And that's all I have to say about that. :wink:

 

[Irishboy]

It was a while before she had a bed at home and was sleeping on the couch. Maybe she wasn't sleeping well.

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the poor girl really didn't have a good life to that point it seems and he took advantage of it. Sickening.

 

[LaneGirl]

Here are some documents for you to read and catch up: https://mgtvwkrn.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/thomas-packet-to-media.pdf

This link has some additional documents but the link above is better as it has an investigative report from the school: https://www.scribd.com/document/342518237/Tad-Cummins-Personnel-file-Redacted

Thank you. So TC is suspended on the same day ET father's attorney send a letter?

 

[Mom24]

I was in high school about 12ish years ago and I can say we absolutely were never allowed to take a nap in the nurses office if we had cramps or were just plain tired. My step daughter is a freshman and I can also assure you she is not allowed to nap. If you are sick you go to the nurse, maybe lay down and wait for your parents to pick you up. But taking a nap is not okay. At least where I'm from. If you are so tired the nurse will call your parents, who will likely tell you to suck it up and nap when you get home. For that matter, my school would actually drug test anyone who put their head down on the desk or attempted to nap in class. Just my opinion and experience.

Sounds like a different environment. Teachers often have small refrigerators in the classrooms, students bring in lattes and meals if the teacher allows it, lunches are often eaten in classrooms with favorite teachers rather than the lunchroom. I've been shocked at how relaxed the environment is today. Don't know how well it prepares them to be adults in the professional world, but that's for another debate.

 

[KKearns]

I'm not going to share my thoughts on a lot of this, for reasons that, I hope, would be obvious. I don't think we know a lot of the facts of this case. And that's all I have to say about that. :wink:

No we don't have a lot of facts on this. What I'm going from though is the attorney letter and dealing with cps with foster children.

Now you can have a lousy cps dept, but I'm having a hard time seeing how cps was involved and the letter to the school says the father found out from the cops a week later.

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[Mountain_Kat]

I'm not sure who notified the authorities. I believe I read somewhere that it was Love, but I'm not sure. The issue is, the school was also bound to report the incident to the father as well. They didn't. I'm not sure that it was sweeping it under the rug, but they definitely were derelict in their duties. There are reasons that parents are notified and we're seeing why that is. It sounded like, from the parent of the child who reported it, that the child notified the school and was questioned by the school first. Then at some later date, an officer came to the school to question the child again.

If a school feels a child is being beaten, are they obligated to inform the parent BEFORE they conduct an investigation and involve LE ?

Not saying that is what happened here, I'm simply saying that I can understand certain cases where it would be wiser to involve LE and step back.

 

[Mom24]

Also...let's remember that we don't know that CPS isn't involved here. Just because no one has told us that, doesn't mean that that isn't the case. In fact, I would be shocked if they weren't involved, given ET's history.

If they weren't involved at the time of the reported incident, they were informed by the police. With custody issues, a pending suit on abuse and her integration into the public school system I'm sure she had a court appointed advocate who would have been pulled in by LE as soon as they started the investigation.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

No we don't have a lot of facts on this. What I'm going from though is the attorney letter and dealing with cps with foster children.

Now you can have a lousy cps dept, but I'm having a hard time seeing how cps was involved and the letter to the school says the father found out from the cops a week later.

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Well, the attorney has a vested interest in not sharing both sides of this story, so...meh. But anyway, it isn't necessary for me to know the full story here, since I'm not a judge. I'm content not to have an opinion on all this. :smile: