There has been push back against claims that a school board ignored warning signs which led to the abduction of a teenage student.
This time in 2017, an all-out manhunt was underway for Tad Cummins. A federal lawsuit was filed in January by the student and her father.
The civil suit has claimed school officials, including teachers and the principal in Columbia, blatantly ignored warning signs about Cummins.
Cummins was the young girl's teacher at one point, and her family said there were clear warning signs and red flags related to his behavior toward the teenager.
All of this, of course, sparked a number of AMBER Alerts nationwide in 2017 as officials searched desperately to find the 15-year-old.
Her family has blasted the Maury County school system, saying they "failed their obligation to protect students from a predator."
Wednesday in a 16-page response, the school board fought back.
They said they suspended Cummins after learning he had some kind of relationship with the young girl. They also denied failing any obligations that permitted Cummins to be "empowered as a predator.”
This civil suit is still making its way through the courts. Cummins, age 51, has been scheduled to appear in Federal court on a number of charges related to the abduction coming up in August.
