Texas judge questions daughter's motives in posting video

The Texas woman who released a 7-year-old video showing her being beaten by her father, a Texas judge, says she has "some regret" over making the tape public.

Update at 6:10 p.m. ET: In a statement released by his lawyer this afternoon, Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams questions his daughter's motives, saying she posted the video after he told her he would no longer support her financially and was taking away her Mercedes-Benz because the piano prodigy had dropped out of college and was working part time at a video game store, the Corpus Christi Caller says.

Adams, who handles family law cases, also said it was "regrettable" that she had used her cerebal palsy "as a device for media sympathy," saying she "is articulate, possesses a superior IQ, and is capable of functioning as a productive adult in today's complex society."

Some excerpts from the three-page letter (pdf):

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 out", 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?

...

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. ...

Earlier updates by Douglas Stanglin:

Update at 8:50 a.m. ET: The ex-wife of a Texas judge who was captured on video beating his teenage daughter with a belt 7 years ago blames the regular attacks on an addiction and says he brainwashed her into compliance.

Hallie Adams, in an interview with NBC's Today show calls County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams' addiction a "family secret," but does not elaborate. Their 22-year marriage ended in 2007.

WATCH:  Tape of beating. Warning: Graphic

She is shown in the 8-minute-video also striking the girl with a belt. Adams tells Today that her ex-husband "completely brainwashed and controlled" her.

Update at 8:38 a.m. ET: "I'm experiencing some regret because I just pulled the covers off my own father's misbehavior after so many people thought he was such a good person. ... But so many people are also telling me I did the right thing," she tells The Associated Press outside her mother's home in the Gulf Coast town of Portland, near Corpus Christi. "He's supposed to be a judge who exercises fit judgment," she tells the AP.

Earlier posting: The young woman who released a video showing her father, a Texas judge, beating her with a belt seven years ago says she decided to make it public not out of vengeance, but as a way to move on, KRIS-TV reports.

"Waiting this long to publish it has enabled me to look at it with hindsight and not be so caught up in the passion of the moment," Hillary Adams tells reporter Keaton Fox of the Corpus Christi TV station. "I think we do, my mother and I, we do need to try to move on past the anger and just concentrate on getting counseling and help."

She says she feels like a lot of people in her community "were tricked" by her father, Judge William Adams in Aransas County.

"They saw him treating his wife and daughter, oh, look what I gave them, look at these amazing cars and watches and pianos, everything like that and just this other side of him, was hidden for so long, because he was so good at controlling the situation and covering anything up," she tells KRIS.

Original posting by Michael Winter:

Texas authorities are investigating a family-law judge after his daughter posted a video that shows him beating her legs with a belt when she was 16 years old, according to news reports.

"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," Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams told KRIS-TV. "Her mother was there, she wasn't hurt ... 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."

The judge added that he informed the Judicial Review board after seeing the 2004 video, which was posted to YouTube last week by his daughter, Hillary, now 23.

The county district attorney and Rockport, Texas, police department are investigating.

KRIS has reaction from Hillary Adams and her mother, who is divorced from her father. Hillary said that she "had held onto the video for so long for the right time" and that it wasn't for revenge. She hopes her father seeks counseling.

Later this afternoon, she told the Associated Press she set up the camera because she knew her father would punish her for illegally downloading music. She admitted she felt some regret for posting the seven-minute clip, which has gone viral since Reddit linked to it Tuesday.

Slate magazine poses this question: "Does Texas Judge William Adams Deserve Internet Vigilantism for Allegedly Beating His Daughter?"