The lawyer for a man who ran away with his 15-year-old student last year sparking a nationwide 39-day manhunt quit his case this month after trying to interview the teenage girl because he believed she would help his case.
Tad Cummins is charged with transporting a 15-year-old student across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual conduct and obstruction of justice.
He and Elizabeth Thomas became nationwide news last year when they fled Columbia, Tennessee, and went on the run together after developing an inappropriate relationship at the school where he taught and she was a student.
The pair were found in California, more than four weeks after they vanished, and Cummins, who is married, was arrested.
His family hired lawyer Brent Horst. In May, Cummins pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Tad Cummins, 51, has been charged with taking 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas across state lines to have sex with her last year and obstructing justice. His lawyer quit last week after trying to interview Elizabeth who, he believed, could help his case
This week, Horst quit after trying to interview Thomas to help their case, a move which is believed to have attracted scorn from prosecutors.
At a hearing after he left the case, the trial judge suggested that prosecutors were investigating his efforts.
While it is legal for him to try to speak to the girl, the judge issued an order earlier this month insisting that any attempts to contact her must go through her lawyer.
Brent Horst (pictured), Cummins lawyer, told DailyMail.com it became ‘difficult’ for him to do his job but would not go into specifics
It is not clear if this is what inflamed prosecutors or if Horst followed the proper channels.
He would not tell DailyMail.com why specifically he chose to leave, nor would he say whether any interview with Thomas happened.
‘As a defense lawyer, I need to conduct an investigation into allegations. I did that, and after I did that, I just made a decision to withdraw based on other things that happened as a result of my investigation,’ he said.
‘Something happened after that. It was going to be difficult for me to do my job. I was not removed forcibly from the case, I requested to be removed.’
Horst said it was routine for lawyers to interview witnesses, even if that witness is the alleged victim.
He would not go into specifics but said, generally speaking, he would not try to interview anyone who not help his case.
Thomas went willingly with Cummins and alluded to their relationship in social media posts in the weeks beforehand.
Cummins and Elizabeth are seen above in a Walmart surveillance camera video taken during their time on the run. They dyed her hair and changed their clothes to try to evade police for weeks
The pair were found at the end of a 39-day nationwide manhunt in this cabin in Cecilville, California
Because she was just 15 at the time, however, he was charged with kidnapping.
Cummins, 51, denies the charges
As Horst quit the case, leaving Cummins to be represented by the same public defender who was first given his case, the girl’s father filed a lawsuit against Cummins and the school where they met, claiming they could have prevented them from going on the run.
Police had been told about their relationship before they fled the town and despite ongoing investigations into the alleged misconduct, Cummins was allowed to remain on campus as a teacher afterwards for several days if not weeks.
Authorities and school staff were first alerted to it by other students who saw the pair kissing in his classroom.
It is not known how much money the girl’s family hope to be awarded as a result of the suit.
Cummins previously claimed that he was forced into admitting that the pair had sex while on the run by authorities who told him he would be charged with rape otherwise.