Abusive Judge Who Beat His Daughter Won’t Be Charged

If you’re one of the 4.1 million people who have viewed this graphic, eight-minute video of Judge William Adams beating his daughter while she pleads for him to stop, then you know that he’s an asshole who deserves to be punished. Just to recap: Adams is shown lashing his disabled, then 16-year-old daughter Hillary Adams with a belt and verbally abusing her, too. Although the beating took place in 2004, Hillary, now 23,  posted the video just last week. She has since been making the media rounds, claiming that her father “needs help” (ya think?).

This all led to an investigation and guess what? William Adams will not face criminal charges because too much time has elapsed, according to police. It’s a major letdown to hear this news and it just sickens me to know that this man will walk free after all he’s done. Adams likely would been charged with causing injury to a child or other assault-related offenses – but the five-year statutes of limitations expired, Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe told reporters.

“We believe that there was a criminal offense involved and that there was substantial evidence to indicate that and under normal circumstances… a charge could have been made,” Jayroe said.

Meanwhile, Adams issued a statement saying his daughter posted the video to get back at him for telling her he’d be reducing the amount of financial support he gives her and taking away her Mercedes. He claims he was merely disciplining his child for stealing pirated online content back when the beating took place, and that “it’s not as bad as it looks on tape.”

It gets even worse: Adams is a judge who presides over child abuse cases (!). But according to Seattle PI, Texas’s judicial conduct commission and the Texas Department of Family and Protective services have requested that he be removed from its cases until the investigation is complete.

Adams also has joint custody of his 10-year-old daughter following a 2007 divorce. His ex-wife, Hallie Adams, appeared on the Today Show Thursday claiming she was “brainwashed” by her controlling husband. She blamed his bouts of violence on “addiction” and called it a “family secret.”

(Photo: seattlepi.com)