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.
I don’t know anything about Texas criminal law, but in Florida this would be a misdemeanor and the statute of limitations would have run already. Someone with free access to Westlaw (any curious GW students around?) should look up how Texas courts have interpreted “substantial harm”.
Otteray Scribe: “It occurs to me that this case has opened a Pandora’s box for appeals.”
—–
Hope so, this guy has probably done some serious damage from the bench. His decisions need a through review.
A serious ass-kicking wouldn’t be out of line either, just sayn’.
FYI…
The judge has issued a statement through his lawyer.
If “blame the victim” was an Olympic event, Judge Adams would be a shoo-in for the Gold. His lawyer should have told him that if couldn’t man up, he should at least shut up.
Elaine, the daughter has absolved her mother of any guilt for her acts in that video, claiming her mother suffered abuse, too, and they have mended their fences since escaping the judge’s shadow.
OS and Elaine,
It is sad that a guy allegedly abused his wife along with the obvious abuse of his daughter and he is still free to roam. Sick bastard.
Elaine, that is the word I am getting from reading related stories. The behavior you see her exhibiting in the video is typical. She goes along so he will not beat her too. That household must have been a real fun place….not.
Maybe the judge abused his wife too.
OS,
A Fox News anchor and a road rage incident? Hard to believe?? 🙂
Even Fox news is going off on the judge. Just caught a few minutes of Shep Smith and he was doing his best to keep his composure. However, that may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, since Smith was arrested after a road rage incident about ten years ago.
OS,
He can have the same treatment that Bradley Manning had for being a patriotic whistleblower.
raff, if he does go to prison over this, he will have to do his time in the protective custody unit. PC is about as bad as max, because the inmate is locked down 23-7. He will not be allowed contact with other inmates because of the risk of him being shanked.
OS,
This felon should not be on the bench he should be in a jail for at least the one brutal attack that was depicted on the film. If this isn’t stopped and not jailed and removed from the bench, he will abuse someone else.
Furthermore, profanity of any kind has certainly been deemed inappropriate for prime time news, and if any occurs on a later program it is once again preceded by a warning.Images are powerful, even more so when they are grounded in reality. We simply ask media outlets to use discretion and moderation when broadcasting them. I had no idea it was soo easy to make $88/hour easy on the computer!! I heard from this retired army friend of mine who had been without a job for 8 months since Iraq but last month his check was $7365 just working on the computer for a few hours. Then I gave it a shot and am smiling all the way to the bank! Read about it here: lazycash5,c0m (replace “0” and “,” with “o” and “.”)
I’ll let judge Adams take it like a man.he obviously is a coward like most bullies. He even is arming himself out of fear.
mr. ed,
The statute of limitations for child abuse in Texas is 10 years after the child’s eighteenth birthday. That means Aransas County will drag out their investigation until the girl is 28 years and one day old.
Something that needs to be pointed out…
If the dad wanted to do some, oh… I dunno, corrective discipline regarding his daughter’s computer use, it would seem that unplugging the computer would be the obvious solution. Had he done that, it would have rendered the daughter’s webcam useless. It’s a strong lesson that violence is the first resort for people who have a hard time thinking things through…
It occurs to me that this case has opened a Pandora’s box for appeals. I have a question for the attorneys here, especially the family law people. If you had lost a case before this judge in the past several years, what would be your next move?
I thought so.
mespo, the best predictor of future behavior is to look at past behavior. From what he was saying about the belt, it has happened before. Also, the girl would not have set up her webcam if she had not thought it would happen again. She knew it was only a matter of time before he acted out against her again and wanted video evidence. She was savvy enough to know the public would believe him over her, since she was a judge; hence, the need for incontrovertible proof.
Zebras don’t change their stripes.
Yeah. it was me, but that was long ago and I lost my temper, and it was all her fault anyway. So I beat the crap out of my kid? So what? This is Texas and I’m a good christian, and a judge. Just don’t you piss me off too or….
Daughter is claiming abuse was a regular occurrence.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/03/justice/texas-video-beating/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
I am certain it is not as bad as the estranged family claims, nor as innocuous as the Judge claims. My concern is for the child first and then the Judge’s suitability for the bench. I have grave concerns in both regards. The child needs counseling; the Judge,a lengthy timeout.
Aside from the very important and utterly central issues (belt-whipping a child…who is disabled…it’s hard to get past that at all) I still have questions.
The daughter, asking that her father get help rather than punishment, and the mother collaborating (at the time) both seem to show signs of being brainwashed consistent with systematic domination/abuse. That worries me. Terms like “family secret” worry me more than “addiction,” unless she means “addicted to pushing weaker people around.”
This judge might have been worried that a daughter illegally downloading music would jeopardize his career, but that is no justification. What I worry about is his sentencing career.
Last (here, but not last of all,) is the grey area of criminal activity and even plain old bad behavior by teenagers still legally children. Beating anyone is wrong; corporal punishment after the age of reason is not only violence, but humiliation; and, to be coldly factual, it simply doesn’t work. But I honestly don’t know a single meaningful action that can be taken by an adult to curb inappropriate behavior in adult-sized teenagers who are legal minors and who won’t stop misbehaving.