County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams has become an Internet sensation, but not in a good way. A video was posted that purportedly shows the judge beating his disabled teenage daughter. Now, the YouTube video has triggered a formal investigation. The 2004 beating by the judge was reportedly due to her use of the Internet without his permission. The daughter leaked the video entitled “Family law judge beats own daughter for using the internet, please spread” to expose what she says is her father’s untreated “problem.” The daughter who has cerebral palsy was caught downloading music.
The family judge is shown on the tape beating her with a belt until she grabs it. He then returns to resume the beating with a new belt and is recorded saying “Bend over the f***ing bed . . . Lay down or I’ll spank you in the f***ing face.”
The mother is also heard saying “You turn over like a 16-year-old and take it like a grown woman.”
The judge then adds “If I hear so much as you raising your f***ing voice to me or your mother with the wrong tone or do one little thing or you look at me f***ing wrong, I’m going to wear your f***ing a** out with this belt.”
The judge admits that he is shown beating her with a belt but insists that he did noting wrong: “She’s mad because I’ve ordered her to bring the car back, in a nutshell, but yeah that’s me, I lost my temper.” He added “It was a long time ago… I really don’t want to get into this right now because as you can see my life’s been made very difficult over this child. . . In my mind I have not done anything wrong other than discipline my child when she was caught stealing. I did lose my temper, I’ve apologized.. it looks worse than it is.”
Critics have noted that Adams has previously ruled against children alleging abuse by their parents. Last October, Adams said that a child’s statements ‘amounted to no evidence’ despite witnesses and a video in the case as well as the supporting testimony of a child psychologist. He used the occasion to call children “fantasizers.”
Adams remains on the bench pending investigation.
The eight-minute video has been viewed millions of times.
What is interesting is the wife divorced the judge and is now supporting her daughter, saying that the judge was engaged in regular bouts of violence due to his “addiction.” She called it a “family secret.” She divorced him in 2007. Yet, the mother is shown on the video responding to the judge’s demand “Go get the belt. The big one. I’m going to spank her now.”
Local reporters say that a neighbor saw “Adams and his girlfriend packing luggage, a briefcase and rifles into their truck.”
There remains a debate over whether spanking or beating a child is per se abuse. There has been a shift in attitudes from the time when teachers routinely beat children and parents whipped their children. There is no per se rule against spanking but beatings of this savagery would meet most definitions of abuse. Texas defines physical harm as involving “substantial” injury, though it also includes emotional injury:
§ 261.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) “Abuse” includes the following acts or omissions by a person:
(A) mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning;
(B) causing or permitting the child to be in a situation in which the child sustains a mental or emotional injury that results in an observable and material impairment in the child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning;
(C) physical injury that results in substantial harm to the child, or the genuine threat of substantial harm from physical injury to the child, including an injury that is at variance with the history or explanation given and excluding an accident or reasonable discipline by a parent, guardian, or managing or possessory conservator that does not expose the child to a substantial risk of harm;
(D) failure to make a reasonable effort to prevent an action by another person that results in physical injury that results in substantial harm to the child;
(E) sexual conduct harmful to a child’s mental, emotional, or physical welfare, including conduct that constitutes the offense of indecency with a child under Section 21.11, Penal Code, sexual assault under Section 22.011, Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021, Penal Code;
(F) failure to make a reasonable effort to prevent sexual conduct harmful to a child;
(G) compelling or encouraging the child to engage in sexual conduct as defined by Section 43.01, Penal Code;
(H) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging in, or allowing the photographing, filming, or depicting of the child if the person knew or should have known that the resulting photograph, film, or depiction of the child is obscene as defined by Section 43.21, Penal Code, or pornographic;
(I) the current use by a person of a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a manner or to the extent that the use results in physical, mental, or emotional injury to a child;
(J) causing, expressly permitting, or encouraging a child to use a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code; or
(K) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging in, or allowing a sexual performance by a child as defined by Section 43.25, Penal Code.
The statute would indicate a ten-year statute of limitations for his type of crime:
Except as provided in Article 12.03, felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not afterward:
(1) no limitation:
(A) murder and manslaughter;(B) sexual assault, if during the investigation of the offense biological matter is collected and subjected to forensic DNA testing and the testing results show that the matter does not match the victim or any other person whose identity is readily ascertained; or
(C) an offense involving leaving the scene of an accident under Section 550.021, Transportation Code, if the accident resulted in the death of a person;
(2) ten years from the date of the commission of the offense:
(A) theft of any estate, real, personal or mixed, by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with intent to defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee, beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate;(B) theft by a public servant of government property over which he exercises control in his official capacity;
(C) forgery or the uttering, using or passing of forged instruments;
(D) injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section 22.04, Penal Code;
(E) sexual assault, except as provided by Subdivision (1) or (5); or
(F) arson;
Based on the video evidence, it is odd that Adams would be left on the bench rather than put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation — particularly after his admission that he is the man shown beating the child.
[UPDATE: Adams has now taken a leave of absence.]
Here is the disturbing YouTube video.
Source: Seattle Pi as first seen on YouTube.
Is there a statute of limitations on this, and what is it?
I’m not trying to make light of this situation, believe me…
However, at my local paper’s website (I live about 40 miles from where this happened), a lot of the people who are crawling out from under rocks to defend this judge are using the “but she was stealing!” argument.
Since her “crime” was was downloading mp3s, I have to wonder… when (not if, when) this judge starts looking for a new job, I wonder if the RIAA will try to get him as a lawyer/celebrity spokesperson?
There is also quite a measure of contempt and disdain in the judge’s (I did not say “in the father’s”) language when he speaks about “this child.”
See, THIS CHILD had no right to cause trouble in his life. She had no right to cause him to “lose his temper” or to do any of the other many things that I am sure he will point to, if put on the spot, to show that SHE victimized HIM. It is an abuser’s stock in trade. He will out-victim everybody. He’s aleady sitting somewhere remembering all the terrible things “this child” and her mother have done to him over the years, now causing all this trouble, THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
What is there to investigate ?
The problem as I understand it with video evidence is demonstrating that the people in the video are the people being accused, since he’s admitted it I think that’s no longer an issue.
He’ll likely get out of it because some investigation will take place and it will be decided that video simply shows a father disciplining his kid so they won’t bother taking it to court.
If it gets to court I wonder if he will elect for trial by Judge…
There’s already calls from those claiming to be investigating it for us not to let “emotion cloud judgement”. To me this sounds like if you rationalise it hard enough you’ll see it was perfectly reasonable.
The judge will has already alluded to it being systematic disobedience that could cost him his career. He’s admitted to loosing his temper. He apologised so it’s okay now (NOT) although he says now in his mind he’s done nothing wrong.
I wonder if they look after their own in Aransas County Texas? Will it play out in some way as I suggest above or will the Judge suffer some kind of sanction.
Oh and someone reported somewhere the statute of limitations is 5 years not 10 so that about wraps it up too.
rafflaw,
The interview with Matt Lauer was illuminating… The mother and daughter have reconciled — the mother appears on The Today Show, too… It’s worth watching, IMO…
Dean,
You are right about the judge and his use of “this child”!
Anon nurse,
Thanks for the clarification. This girl is better off with this felon in jail.
Who the hell is running the camera, the mother of the child? – rafflaw
rafflaw, The daughter set it up because of other problems with her father… It was recorded using a web cam, I believe, and she covered up the light, so he wouldn’t realize that he was being recorded.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/hillary-adams-judge-beats-daughter_n_1072350.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk3%7C109662
OK, Judge says IF there’s no video, THEN it didn’t happen.
So how’s he gonna get out of the charges against himself (if anybody brings any — prosecutors have absolute discretion)?
LOGIC!
If there is NO video,THEN it did not happen
does not lead conclusively to:
If there IS a videom then it DID happen
As in IF the streets are ot wet, then it did not rain
will not necessarily mean
If the streets are wet the it DID rain.
He’ll get out of this. The best way to get out of something like this is to have power.
“I really don’t want to get into this right now because as you can see my life’s been made very difficult over this child.”
The casual use of “this child” is very disturbing because it suggests the Judge has disassociated from his own child. She isn’t his child she is a child, it’s practically objectifying his daughter.
I would also say this is typical of his attitude because it’s not a slip that’s easily made, at least not in my experience as a father of a sometimes unruly daughter.
It’s like “this child” is nothing more than an inconvenience; with an attitude like that there’s no wonder both her and her mother claim mental abuse – something few believed until the video was released.
May be it’s a judge thing, to be objective, but when objectify too much you get situations as occurred in Abu Ghraib prison. Sounds pretty callous to me.
My understanding this judge is also the subject of another controversy that occurred on October 11th 2010 involving a child custody case.
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=143211 – not this was posted about on this forum in May 2011 well before this current controversy surrounding the judge.
Interestingly in that case it was said (I believe by said Judge) that if there was no video evidence it did not happen. (ahem).
I also understand Judge William Adams has agreed to take paid leave until things die down or the investigation is complete or something? Locals claim he was seen packing clothes and rifles and heading off from home with a purpose with his current girl friend.
Isn’t this also one of those examples of someone bring their occupation / employers in to disrepute?
Apparently the Texas State Commission Judicial Conduct has authority to investigate and sanction Judges who bring the judiciary in to disrepute.
If this video doesn’t call his judgement in to question along with the seemingly dodgy case of Oct 11th 2010 then exactly how low can a judge go before they trigger some kind of meaningful investigation / sanction?
Malisha,
I certainly understand why this is extremely painful. The fact that judges both dismiss and engage in child abuse points to something very deeply engrained in this society–children are seen as the property of their parents.
If this happened on the street, say two people got in a fight and one started beating the other this way, there would be an arrest and punishment. It is only when this happens in a family that a question arises over whether these same actions are criminal.
We have a long history of people having rights of ownership over other people. In families, men traditionally have owned women and children and parents of any gender own children. That is what makes something which is clearly a crime, become “discipline”.
It sounds like you’re fighting the good fight on behalf of children. Thank you!
Thanks, Jill.
I’m sorry that I know the things I know; sometimes I can hardly live with it. And I don’t know very much, just what I have learned in the trenches.
Laws don’t matter because judges apply them.
Well stated by many, especially rafflaw and Malisha.
Suspended? This guy should be in Jail! He should be in jail for the rest of his life for this disgusting attack on a helpless child. Why in the hell is this considered “discipline”? This is a lethal attack on a handicapped girl that should be punished. Suspension is not the proper punishment for this brutal attack. Put him in jail and throw away the key. I could not even watch the entire video because it was so disturbing. Who the hell is running the camera, the mother of the child?
It’s abuse, not that it will matter. The judge will certainly not lose his position. Given the place where he’s from, this will just get him more votes next election.
Conservatism and child abuse go together like peanut butter and jelly, or a better analogy would be alcohol and cigarettes.
Malsiha,
Excellent commentary…
I have seen cases where judges not only refuse to credit the children’s description of abuse, but where they also, like this abuser-judge, rule out the valid testimony of qualified experts, mothers, etc., all to make a stupid and knowingly dishonest finding of “not a scintilla of evidence” or the equivalent idiotic and reprehensible finding. The fact that this judge has a reputation for refusing to protect children should come as no surprise; the fact that he is free, on the family court bench, to act without a jury and to “find” that facts and evidence are not “persuasvie” is also nothing new. I am sure I have encountered decisions from family court judges in the past who were themselves child abusers. After all, what would be the best job for a child abuser who happened to be able to get a law degree? Who concerns himself the most with gathering power? A CHILD ABUSER! What is appalling is that this man is allowed to continue to sit on the bench “pending” “investigation.” Let’s understand this: While he is under investigation for criminal child abuse he gets to decide if others like him should have
(a) investigations or (b) perhaps custody?
The worst part about this is that I am not surprised. People like me who have seen the gross abuses in the family court system are not surprised. Disgusted, yes. Glad someone recorded it and promulgated the report, yes. Surprised? Hardly.
Not only a disgrace to the bench and bar, but a disgrace of man as well. It is truly appalling that he’s not suspended as well.
Already covered….The guy is still as ASS….