From my years working as an attorney/guardian ad litem down at the Bexar County CPS Children's Court, I learned that lots of folk are caring and concerned, but they just don't want to think about kids getting abused or neglected so they ... well ... don't.
Which is why Hillary Adams not only videotaping her father, Aransas County Judge at Law William Adams, beating her with a belt, but having the courage to put that video on YouTube is not only courageous but important.
Because no matter how disturbing that video may be -- and yes, it is graphic and disturbing and horrible -- it's important for people to be aware that child abuse is a very real problem in this country.
And it's not just happening in the poor sections of town. It's happening everywhere. Like here, in the home of a prominent local family in Rockport, Texas.
I'm not embedding the video here on my blog, because it is so ugly. While I thought not doing might in some way be a disservice to Hillary Adams, there is the concern of protecting minors from this stuff.
Mind you, this teenager was born with cerebral palsy and she's in trouble for downloading stuff off the web in violation of copyright laws. Yep, illegal music downloads ... something that may be against the law, true, but something that teenagers are prey to doing all the time.
Right now, this story is breaking. Corpus Christi TV is reporting that a criminal investigation has begun; that the Aransas County Courthouse is getting death threats against Judge Adams, and that Judge Adams has confirmed to the media that he is the man in the video.
This is a very bad thing, what is on this video. However, if Hillary Adams' experiences can serve to enlighten people to the realities of child abuse exisiting in all socioeconomic levels, then good can come of this.
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