Father Of Abducted Girl Says She Was “Brainwashed”

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) – The Siskiyou County sheriff says a Tennessee teacher accused of kidnapping his 15-year-old student got the idea to go to a commune after visiting Berkeley, a city long known as a counterculture hotbed. Sheriff Jon Lopey said teacher Tad Cummins took the girl to the commune at Black Bear Ranch, but “didn’t get along” with the residents and wound up leaving. Police say the teacher kidnapped the girl from Columbia, Tennessee, on March 13. He was arrested Thursday after a tip led police to them at a remote cabin in Cecilville. The lawyer for the family says the teen is back home in Tennessee and being evaluated and treated by mental health experts. Attorney Jason Whatley said in a press release that the girl is in a safe location with family and friends. The lawyer said there is no doubt the girl suffered severe emotional trauma and the process of recovery is only beginning. He thanked people across the country for their thoughts and prayers and asked that the family have privacy. Speaking Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the victim’s father says he thinks his daughter was brainwashed. He said his daughter will need therapy and that her family will be patient with her and get her the help she needs.

There is no custom code to display.