McALLEN, Texas (AP) - A Texas family law judge seen beating his older daughter in a video she posted on YouTube has been placed under a temporary restraining order, and his ex-wife's attorney said Friday it effectively prevents him from visiting his younger daughter.
Under the order issued Thursday by another judge, Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams is forbidden from visiting his 10-year-old daughter without getting permission from the girl's mother, his ex-wife. The order also says Adams can't disparage the woman or drink alcohol within 24 hours of seeing his child.
Brett Pritchard, the attorney for Adams' ex-wife Hallie Adams, said in a prepared statement that the ruling "temporarily terminates the visitation between Judge Adams and his younger child."
William Adams' attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday from The Associated Press.
State District Judge Kemper Stephen Williams scheduled a hearing for Nov. 21 to decide on Hallie Adams' request to have William Adams' visitation denied or require that it be supervised. William Adams has not held court since his 23-year-old daughter Hillary Adams released a secretly-recorded 2004 video of him beating her with a belt.
William Adams faced public calls for his resignation and threats after Hillary Adams posted the 8-minute clip on YouTube that shows her father viciously lashing her with a belt and trying to force her to bend over her bed to be beaten despite her pleas to stop.
Hallie Adams filed an affidavit Thursday claiming a dysfunctional 22-year marriage and conflict that continued since their 2007 divorce. Pritchard said the furious reaction to the video triggered the legal move.
"The impetus is she (Hallie Adams) doesn't feel at first that her daughter is safe going down there to be with the judge right now," Pritchard said. "The impetus now is the result of the video, not necessarily the video itself."
The district attorney and federal prosecutors both declined to bring charges against William Adams, but the State Commission on Judicial Conduct continues its investigation.
Last week, Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe said that police did not interview the younger daughter, but asked both Hallie and Hillary Adams about it and there was no indication of abuse of the younger daughter.