Tennessee teacher who fled with teen appears in Nashville courtroom

In this April 20, 2017 photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is Tad Cummins. A 15-year-old Tennessee student who was allegedly kidnapped by her teacher and taken to California is back home, a lawyer for the girl's family said Friday, April 21, 2017. The girl is being evaluated and treated by mental health experts specializing in trauma, lawyer Jason Whatley said in a press release. Authorities credit the caretaker of a remote northern California property for helping police find her and arrest her alleged abductor, fired teacher Tad Cummins. (Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via AP)
In this April 20, 2017 photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is Tad Cummins. A 15-year-old Tennessee student who was allegedly kidnapped by her teacher and taken to California is back home, a lawyer for the girl's family said Friday, April 21, 2017. The girl is being evaluated and treated by mental health experts specializing in trauma, lawyer Jason Whatley said in a press release. Authorities credit the caretaker of a remote northern California property for helping police find her and arrest her alleged abductor, fired teacher Tad Cummins. (Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via AP)
photo In this April 20, 2017 photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is Tad Cummins. A 15-year-old Tennessee student who was allegedly kidnapped by her teacher and taken to California is back home, a lawyer for the girl's family said Friday, April 21, 2017. The girl is being evaluated and treated by mental health experts specializing in trauma, lawyer Jason Whatley said in a press release. Authorities credit the caretaker of a remote northern California property for helping police find her and arrest her alleged abductor, fired teacher Tad Cummins. (Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Twenty days after he was arrested in a Northern California forest after a nationwide manhunt, Tad Cummins made his first court appearance in Tennessee on Tuesday.

His feet tethered by chains, Cummins shuffled into a federal courtroom in Nashville carrying a few pieces of paper. He gave a tight-lipped smile to three family members seated in the second row, who returned the gesture with waves and blew kisses.

"Yes, ma'am," the 50-year-old man replied quietly each time U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes asked if he knew his right to have a lawyer and to remain silent.

Read more at our news partner's website, tennessean.com.

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