Texas Judge Who Beat Daughter Gets His Job Back, Paid Throughout Suspension

Originally posted by RealSpoke
My mom was watching Dr.Phil and this girl was on it. She's an adult now and said her father regularly abused her from what I remember.

Hillary is now 23 and remembers the incident vividly. “The punishments that I experienced by my father went from being bad to what was severe. I became a teenager, and it started getting worse,” she says. “One evening, I could tell things were beginning to get bad, so I set my camera up so that nobody could see that it was running, and I was able to capture this horrifying scene. It’s my own father in this video doing such a horrible act.

“There were other beatings that were worse, but this one left the most marks and bruises. I was bruised from my ankles all the way up to my arms. And I told my dad, ‘I’m bruised all over. It hurts to walk.’ His response was just one word, and that word was: ‘Good.’”

“The video was taped when I was about 16, and it was seven years until I finally snapped and decided to release it. When I told my father that I had the video, apparently he didn’t think anything of it, because in his mind, he was still infallible. He brushed it off. He dared me to post it. He said, ‘Do that if you think it’ll make you feel better.’

drphil.com...

Dr Phil is NOT a doctor of any form of psychology / psychiatry and IMO does more damage than good including horribly misinforming the public. The guy made his career on hundreds of shows where the female half of a couple was always right including issues where the female was clearly out of her mind. It got the desired effect and built him a following of sheep and a ton of money though so by current society standards he's a genius.

As I said, I would never strike my daughter if for no other reason than I never want them to experience being hit by a man on top of the fact that my daughters are sensitive people who don't require more than a talking to for them to adjust their behavior.

I'm finding it hard to empathize / sympathize with this girl, however. For starters, she's on Dr Phil expressing what looks like a huge case of teen aged hatred towards her parents when she should be old enough to have moved on with her life. She just comes off badly.

She took her shot at destroying pop's career, apparently the facts of the case didn't convince the courts so now she's going to roast him in the court of public opinion and make some money to boot. Not to mention getting her 15 minutes of fame.

The spanking was bad and yes, Dad was out of line bringing his anger into it. Overall though, it wasn't anything compared to the spankings we took as kids and most of the kids I grew up with got even worse. If my Dad told me to assume the position and I refused I would have done so knowing I was going to get much worse as a result.

I don't know why but my gut instinct says not to trust this girl, that she's not quite the innocent victim of a monster like she's making things out to be (with plenty of help from the media). Something about an adult doing this much to expose her evil Father and play the victim just stinks. If he'd molested her it would make more sense as harsh as that sounds. There's something else / a lot of missing data here.

reply to post by moniesisfun


I believe you are right,

people are not uniform creatures we all have different variables that effect the outcome, it is difficult to determine. We also have different levels of introspection, some are aware and modify their behavior, and others cannot, others are chemically imbalanced and never seek treatment so you don't have much data to go on.

America is a rough place to survive, you would be shocked if you knew what percentage of the kids get beat down by their deadbeat parents.

The girl's lucky she wasn't sexually molested. I'm not surprised Texas kept him on the bench. Are you really surprised? It's Texas.

reply to post by kat2684


I'm of the opinion that "chemically imbalanced" is a catch all for funky brain processing. It could be chemical, biological, psycho-social, or all three combined in ways we can't yet ascertain.

I seek help for the universal problems in life from the council of my close confidants. It's cheaper and more effective!

The wife of this Judge divorced him. The daughter no longer talks to him(as of around a year ago) The Judge claims she posted the video to get him back over a car she wanted or something like that as I don't remember. She was on Dr.Phil as was the mother last year. I didn't see the episode on Youtube or I would have posted it. Anyway the guy is SCUM. How he can be part of the justice system is beyond me. I encourage all ATS users to write Texas government drop them a line and let them know what you think!

Oh please. You want child abusers to stop judging all of you in 'his' court?

The solution to all of these problems with out of control officials lies within our History as a Nation, and has alot to do with tall, and thick branched trees, and Hemp rope.

reply to post by ecoparity

I don't know why but my gut instinct says not to trust this girl, that she's not quite the innocent victim of a monster like she's making things out to be

There is a video, what more proof do you want? The video is not of a "spanking", it's of a grown man getting off on inflicting pain and dominating his daughter. It's creepy. The guy is a weirdo and the Earth would be a much better place without him.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
reply to post by ecoparity

 

I don't know why but my gut instinct says not to trust this girl, that she's not quite the innocent victim of a monster like she's making things out to be

There is a video, what more proof do you want? The video is not of a "spanking", it's of a grown man getting off on inflicting pain and dominating his daughter. It's creepy. The guy is a weirdo and the Earth would be a much better place without him.

edit on 10-9-2012 by RealSpoke because: (no reason given)

RealSpoke

Sometimes we don't agree with each other but I'm glad we're on common ground with this issue.

Peace

Originally posted by RealSpoke
reply to post by ecoparity

 

I don't know why but my gut instinct says not to trust this girl, that she's not quite the innocent victim of a monster like she's making things out to be

There is a video, what more proof do you want? The video is not of a "spanking", it's of a grown man getting off on inflicting pain and dominating his daughter. It's creepy. The guy is a weirdo and the Earth would be a much better place without him.

edit on 10-9-2012 by RealSpoke because: (no reason given)

You seem to have a knack for taking things to extremes and padding the evidence a bit.

No one is arguing that the Dad wasn't out of line, punishing a child while you're angry is wrong and under our current social norms spanking with a belt is considered abuse.

I'm just extremely suspicious of anyone who would manage to set up a recording like this in the first place (she wasn't beaten on a daily basis) and then defy her parents to try and manipulate a reaction, probably to make sure the tape reflected a worse result. Then, she stuffs the tape away for 7 years only to go after her Dad once she was a 23 year old adult.

I question her motives, most definitely.

If I'd had a video camera when I was he age I could post tapes that make her spanking look like a tree hugging love fest. Like millions of other people I grew up during a time when this kind of punishment was normal and accepted by society.

Believe it or not our parents grew up with even harsher punishment. They were usually spanked with green wood tree limbs (switches) which worked much like a thin whip and would easily raise welts and draw blood. They probably felt they were being kinder using a belt on a back side with no pants covering it. 15-20 years later this Dad and others like him probably feel they are being more lenient by spanking without having the child remove their pants.

I can only speak from my own personal experience - the spankings did not scar me for life nor scar me in body. I don't have any issues resulting from it and I did not grow up to abuse or even spank my own children.

Even if I had tapes of my Dad laying on one of his 15 minute long spankings on me from back in the 80's I would not wish him any harm by posting them online nor especially trying to see him prosecuted for something that happened a long time ago when society said it was acceptable. I had friends who were never disciplined simply because they had parents who did not care about them, period. I'm glad I had parents who cared how I turned out even if I took a spanking over it now and then.

You're judging this man based on something he did a long time ago, not just when it was still considered an acceptable form of punishment but also in a place where it is still considered a just punishment in some cases today. Plus, you're doing it for a "victim" who is probably more predator than prey, IMO.

Absolutely shocking. And disgusting.

This lends even more weight to the fact there's one law for THEM and another law for us.

You watching this makes me feel the rage...

Their seem to be a lot of posters who like the idea of stringing him up, removing him from the earth, and other euphemisms. Is this the only crime that should create these reactions? If beating a teenager, then certainly killing. And raping? Sounds like it should be.

Now how does all of this fit in with your ideas of the death penalty? A little different now?

reply to post by ecoparity


I'm not really sure we watched the same video. This was not a "out of rage" spanking, it was weird and pre-meditated. He was getting off on her screaming and making him do what she said. The girl was 16 years old, that's WAY too old for a father to spank and talk to her like that.

Who tells their 16 year old daughter to

"Bend over the fking bed"
"Bend over like I said dammit"
"Roll over"
"Lay down or I'm going to smack you in the fking face"
"Rollover and take it like a grown women"
"Imma keep beating you and beating you"

JUST EXTREMELY CREEPY. I wish she would have hit him in the nuts and repeatedly kicked his face in.

I'm just extremely suspicious of anyone who would manage to set up a recording like this in the first place (she wasn't beaten on a daily basis)

She said she was beat regularly. I posted quotes from her when she was on the Dr.Phil show. She took the video YEARS before she released it, once she was able to move out of the house, be fully independent and be safe.

Hillary is now 23 and remembers the incident vividly. “The punishments that I experienced by my father went from being bad to what was severe. I became a teenager, and it started getting worse,” she says. “One evening, I could tell things were beginning to get bad, so I set my camera up so that nobody could see that it was running, and I was able to capture this horrifying scene. It’s my own father in this video doing such a horrible act.

“There were other beatings that were worse, but this one left the most marks and bruises. I was bruised from my ankles all the way up to my arms. And I told my dad, ‘I’m bruised all over. It hurts to walk.’ His response was just one word, and that word was: ‘Good.’”

“The video was taped when I was about 16, and it was seven years until I finally snapped and decided to release it. When I told my father that I had the video, apparently he didn’t think anything of it, because in his mind, he was still infallible. He brushed it off. He dared me to post it. He said, ‘Do that if you think it’ll make you feel better.’

You're judging this man based on something he did a long time ago, not just when it was still considered an acceptable form of punishment

This happened din the early 2000's, not 1950. And I don't really care whats "socially acceptable", it was once acceptable to beat your wife too, did that make it right? No. If you listen to what society tells you is normal then you have no problem letting others think for you.

Originally posted by ecoparity





I question her motives, most definitely.

Then you can understand why I question your motives in defending a child abuser and being so accusatory of the young woman.

Motives indeed! The judges motives weren't discipline; he got off on the degradation and abuse of his own daughter. Did you even watch the video?

I doubt if he will remain long on the bench even though he got his job back. In fact my money is on that he will be seeking professional therapy soon for anger management, just to placate his coworkers and try and win back some respect. But the deed is done and he deserves his ridicule and mockery as he brought it on himself!!!

reply to post by RealSpoke


Like I said, I think you're reading way more evidence into the record that does not exist. The victim is all over the media and has not reported any incidents of sexual abuse / molestation. It looks to me like a Dad who is extremely angry and getting more so because his daughter is defying him and refusing to do as she is told.

I've already stated he shouldn't have been punishing her while angry, even back when it was considered acceptable to spank your kids. He should have taken a 10 minute break and calmed down which might have resulted in a different choice of punishment altogether.

What society terms as acceptable is also what our legal system uses to define the boundaries of what is considered abuse, assault, etc. Once again this concept that spanking your children is abuse and against the law is yet another of those popular distortions of fact, especially when you compare the laws between states.

Let's look at Texas, where this man is (still) a judge.

Texas law does permit parents to spank their children so long as the spanking is reasonable and for the child’s safety or welfare. This is called the Parent-Child Justification. If the parent causes evident, lasting injury they can and have been charged with injury to a child and had to deal with CPS. Some people feel that the legislation of the subject is just another example of the government trying to break the family structure with extremely obtrusive legislation.

I get it, you're one of those people who think any form of spanking is horrific abuse. I personally do not spank my children as it has not been necessary. If they were engaged in behavior that represented an immediate and serious threat to their well being that other forms of punishment failed to remedy then I, as the parent feel I should have the option to use corporal punishment. Even so, Mom would be the one to do it as I refuse to strike my daughters under any circumstances. I'd probably rather see them learn the lesson the hard way.

One of the other primary reasons this is even an issue for government is because, as usual there are people who cannot act intelligently and with limits (like the man in the video who was angry at the time). They use something to spank their child that will cause lasting injury, strike too hard or hit somewhere other than the buttocks, etc.

I agree the man was out of line but I also feel the daughter's (intentional) defiance contributed to the situation. I cannot say he is some kind of pervert who enjoys spanking girls or is an abusive person in general and based on the evidence I don't think you can either.


Like it or not the concept that the government can tell parents they are not allowed to spank their children under force of law is relatively new in the US. There is still a very large population of parents who do not agree and back in 2000 the legislation of this concept was still new and even non existent in some places.

reply to post by olaru12


Yes, I question the motives of a 23 year old to focus so much time and attention on something that happened when she was 16. Speculation from her own family that this is the result of her attempt to extort a new car out of her Father would explain it.

I don't think you've actually read my posts, to be honest. I don't spank my kids and never have. I don't think we need a blanket law that says parents can never spank their kids and at this point in time that is not the law in most states. In fact, it's still legal to spank your children under specific circumstances.

There's the way things "should be" and the way "they are". In the real World, the personal preferences of liberals in California have no meaning what so ever in a place like Texas.

Millions of people my age grew up with a Dad who used the belt and a Mom who would often pick up the nearest hard object. We don't beat our kids (or even spank them in most cases) abuse animals or have weird sexual fetishes as a result.

A society where children are not punished be it spanking, grounding, time out, whatever would be a beautiful thing. Once children stop being disobedient or doing dangerous, potentially harmful things to themselves and others we might just get there.

I'm your typical hypocritical parent. My own little angels do not need spanking because they are so well behaved, sensitive and intelligent. It's all the other people's kids I see out there acting like escaped sex offenders and gangster rappers who probably need a belt w/ a Dad to use it.

I think the point here is not the fact that he beat his daughter, it's the hypocritical factor that goes along with it, he is a judge, residing over cases like this, in fact, I bet he sent someone to jail that very same day for doing exactly the same as what he did to his daughter, then went home and had a "WAIL" of a time!! And for what? Playing a computer game!!? WTF!!!??? I cant even begin to get my head round the apologists on here trying to excuse his behaviour, I have 5 kids, and 5 step kids....I was beaten as a child so much that I ended up in child protective custody!!! And I have NEVER raised a hand to any child in my care! There is no excuse for this...PERIOD!!
PEACE!!!

reply to post by ecoparity


Nope. I'm not against spanking if the kid does something way out of bounds. This was NOT a spanking. You give spankings to CHILDREN, not near adult teenagers. A grown man beating a 16 year old and getting off on it is creepy and gross.

reply to post by ecoparity

Yes, I question the motives of a 23 year old to focus so much time and attention on something that happened when she was 16. Speculation from her own family that this is the result of her attempt to extort a new car out of her Father would explain it.

Sometimes things happen to us when we're too young to know how to address them. Those things don't stop hurting later when we know what to do. Her dad had it coming

About the car? Family protects their own - and they do rationalize

Can you watch that video and still not see - he did what he did?

:-)

Like I said - people rationalize to suit their own comfort zone