Judge William Adams, the Texas family court judge who beat his cerebral palsy-disabled 16-year old daughter with a belt — and saw the whipping go viral on YouTube — has issued a statement calling his daughter’s actions “misguided and misleading.” Adams’ statement blames his daughter, Hillary, for releasing the video, suggesting his daughter did it in retaliation for his reduction of financial support to her. No where in the statement did Judge Adams offer an apology, though he has said earlier, “It happened years ago… I apologized. It’s not as bad as it looks on tape.”
WATCH:Â Texas Judge Beat 16-Year Old Disabled Daughter Repeatedly With Belt
“Hillary warned her father if he reduced her financial support, and took away her Mercedes automobile, which her father had provided, he would live to regret it,” the statement reads. “The post was then uploaded. The public may wonder if this is the tyranny of which Hillary Adams speaks as her reason to disseminate the video seven years after it was recorded, and five years into adulthood? Is this the reason she “hoarded†the video for seven years?”
No one should take the affliction of cerebral palsy lightly. Hillary’s parents did not. Hillary’s condition was monitored as a child and her medical needs met. However, neither should a perfectly capable adult try to use an affliction as a device for media sympathy. It should now be apparent to the world that “disabled†was mislabeled.
In response to the internet post, the media has appropriately attempted to understand why Hillary Adams chose the present time to disseminate the video. To many, her answers to those questions have been confusing and hollow. As she has said by recent interview, she “hoarded†the secret tape for future use, but has not explained, even now, for what purpose. Very few people find palatable her claim that it was to “help†her father.
Perhaps Hillary Adams should explain, if she felt she was raised by a tyrannical father, a claim shared with no one until five years after adulthood, why she insisted on living with her father and not her mother from the time of her parent’s divorce, until she moved out on her own. Hillary Adams has been living on her own for some time, and has been an adult for almost six years, so why post the video in late 2011?
The Daily Mail reported:
Hallie Adams appeared with her daughter Hillary in a TV interview in which they described years of abuse in their ‘dysfunctional’ family and Hillary revealed her father dared her to post the video online.
Hillary Adams also told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that she uploaded the video to make it clear her father was in ‘some denial about the way you are treating me and my mother’.
‘I thought he was a monster,’ she added. ‘I thought that I was a witch. I really don’t know what the solution for him is. Except that I really want him to seek some kind of help.’
Judge Adams will face no federal criminal charges, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, despite a call for charges from a former child abuse prosecutor. Local authorities, due to statute of limitations restrictions, have also declined to prosecute the Aransas County Republican, who has three years left to serve in his elected office.
The complete statement, via KRIS-TV, below:
My name is William A. Dudley. The statement which follows has been reviewed and approved for circulation by Judge William Adams.
The seven year old video presently circulating the internet and now made the basis of international media attention, showing two parents disciplining their 16 year old daughter, who had been caught, by her own televised and internet reported admissions, engaged in repeated criminal activity, was posted for reasons other than as professed by the publisher.
It is regrettable that Hillary Adams, a bright and gifted person, would include in her post that she is or was a disabled or a special needs child. As multiple media appearances clearly demonstrate, Hillary Adams is articulate, possesses a superior IQ, and is capable of functioning as a productive adult in today’s complex society. No one should take the affliction of cerebral palsy lightly. Hillary’s parents did not. Hillary’s condition was monitored as a child and her medical needs met. However, neither should a perfectly capable adult try to use an affliction as a device for media sympathy. It should now be apparent to the world that “disabled†was mislabeled.
In response to the internet post, the media has appropriately attempted to understand why Hillary Adams chose the present time to disseminate the video. To many, her answers to those questions have been confusing and hollow. As she has said by recent interview, she “hoarded†the secret tape for future use, but has not explained, even now, for what purpose. Very few people find palatable her claim that it was to “help†her father.
Perhaps Hillary Adams should explain, if she felt she was raised by a tyrannical father, a claim shared with no one until five years after adulthood, why she insisted on living with her father and not her mother from the time of her parent’s divorce, until she moved out on her own. Hillary Adams has been living on her own for some time, and has been an adult for almost six years, so why post the video in late 2011?
William Adams is of the opinion that Hillary Adams is an extremely bright, highly functional, adult. The media has described her as a piano prodigy, who has competed at
Carnegie Hall on multiple occasions. As one of Hillary’s long term teachers noted in the press, Hillary, so close to accomplishment, has of recent “inexplicably dropped out, just two classes shy of completing her [college] studies.†The video in question was recorded well before Hillary graduated high school. If the public must know, just prior to the You Tube upload, a concerned father shared with his 23 year old daughter that he was unwilling to continue to work hard and be her primary source of financial support, if she was going to simply “drop outâ€, and strive to achieve no more in life than to work part time at a video game store. Hillary warned her father if he reduced her financial support, and took away her Mercedes automobile, which her father had provided, he would live to regret it. The post was then uploaded. The public may wonder if this is the tyranny of which Hillary Adams speaks as her reason to disseminate the video seven years after it was recorded, and five years into adulthood? Is this the reason she “hoarded†the video for seven years?
William Adams regrets the interruption and inconvenience his daughter’s post has caused to the Aransas County, Texas community. Judge Adams is confident that when the dust settles and international media attention has passed, and the work ahead, whether civil, criminal, or administrative has taken it’s full course and has been fully developed, with an opportunity for all sides to ask and answer relevant questions, it will be concluded that Hillary Adam’s actions in 2011 were misguided and misleading.
Judge Adams regrets, if true, that his daughter believes he is in need of healing from the family divorce. Divorce is certainly traumatic, and takes a significant toll on all, especially children. Judge Adams is of the opinion that Hillary’s gesture is little more than a much needed but hard to believe explanation of why she chose to post the video. If this entire event was a plea for help and healing, the methodology is certainly unorthodox. Judge Adams, who among other reasons, still has a minor daughter to consider, chooses to involve the media as little as possible whilst personal family matters are sorted through. The public may ponder what consideration Hillary Adams gave her little sister before subjecting the entire family to world-wide microscopic scrutiny, and permanent consequences.
It is Judge Adams’ civic responsibility to respond to whatever investigations may result from a revelation of the disciplinary actions resorted to by his former wife and him on the viral video. Those investigations will require answers to many questions raised by the media and public and for which no appropriate forum has been chosen to date. He is confident the process will be managed in accordance with the law. For the sake of his family, co-workers, and Aransas County officials who must endure the additional work and expense, he wishes that the process not be played out daily on a national stage.