Elizabeth Thomas Can 'Absolutely Move On' from Alleged Kidnapping: Counseling Expert
As Elizabeth Thomas acclimates back home in Tennessee after her alleged 38-day abduction by her teacher, she faces a long and emotional healing process, a psychologist and expert in child sex abuse tells PEOPLE.
Elizabeth’s teacher, 50-year-old Tad Cummins, allegedly “groomed” her for months prior to the pair vanishing on March 13, which launched a weeks-long AMBER Alert.
“She’s going to be very confused, because she was brainwashed by this guy and she doesn’t quite understand why everyone is acting like it’s a kidnapping,” says Dr. Michelle Stevens, a California-based psychologist who recently wrote a book about her personal story of being raped by her stepfather, who was a local teacher. (Stevens’ comments are based on allegations from investigators and Elizabeth’s family members.)
Stevens adds, “She’s going to have to go through a very difficult period of coming to terms with the fact that [Cummins] wasn’t a good guy and that she was manipulated - and, ultimately, he probably didn’t care so much about her as he just wanted to use her. And that’s going to be incredibly painful for her.”
On Thursday, officials announced they had arrested Cummins and safely recovered Elizabeth from a secluded cabin in Northern California after receiving a tip the night before.
Cummins faces federal and state charges. He remains in custody and has not entered a plea, though his attorney claims he did not coerce or force Elizabeth.
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Jon Lopey, the sheriff of Siskiyou County, California, where the pair was found last week, told PEOPLE, “They seemed to comfort each other.”
“She got emotional with crying and he attempted to comfort her, and then when we had to take her away, [it] seemed to be somewhat emotionally difficult for her,” Lopey said.
“We recognized that she had been traumatized,” he said.
Stevens says predators are very skilled at manipulating young people and appealing to their needs. For example, in schools they are adept at understanding the mindset of a needy and lonely teen because they’re around them for lengthy stretches of time, she says.
Elizabeth’s sister, Sarah, previously told PEOPLE that her sister was at a vulnerable point coming into the school year because she had been bullied the year before.
“Unfortunately, while the [alleged] abduction is what’s uncommon and newsworthy, this is going on everywhere all the time. I believe that teachers are going to be the new Catholic priest scandal,” Stevens says. “Men who like underage people are drawn to professions where they’re around underage people.”
According to a court petition filed by Elizabeth’s father, Cummins picked her up from her home on more than one occasion to go out for a meal, “threatening her that if she did not go with him she would face repercussions at school.”
He “preyed upon the child for months on end, nudging and molding her until her will to resist was conflicted and ultimately broken,” the filing claims. Elizabeth also came to believe Cummins was a secret agent, her family has said.
Stevens says it’s possible Elizabeth thought she was in an equal relationship - but psychologically, emotionally and legally, she was not.
“He had a whole plan for taking over this girl’s life and she believed, because she is young, impressionable and easily manipulated, she believed that she had a choice in that plan,” Stevens explains.
She believes family therapy and private therapy will be essential for Elizabeth’s healing process.
As one of the teen’s older sisters told PEOPLE, “She needs love over anything else. Love is what’s going to heal her. We’re going to show her we love her unconditionally.”
Stevens says Elizabeth will likely experience many emotions in the wake of her return home.
“She will feel a lot of guilt and a lot of shame,” she theorizes. “No one wants to realize that the person they thought cared about them really doesn’t. No one wants to believe they can be so easily manipulated.”
But, Stevens says, “if she gets proper and sensitive help to allow her to deal with the guilt and shame that she is going to feel, she can absolutely move on from this.”
