Aransas County / AP Photo
The Texas family-court judge who was videotaped beating his 16-year-old daughter with a belt will not face charges because the statute of limitations has expired. The video exposing William Adams was filmed in 2004, and the statute of limitations for causing injury to a child lasts five years. Last week, Adams’s daughter Hillary, now 23, posted the video to YouTube, where it has been watched more than 2 million times. In a statement, Judge Adams said his daughter posted the video because she was angry he reduced her financial assistance and was taking away her Mercedes. He did not apologize for the abuse and told a local television station Wednesday that the video “looks worse than it is.” After consulting with police, federal prosecutors determined no federal offense was committed and the Aransas County District Attorney Patrick Flanigan said he would not be pressing charges against Adams, who is a Judge in the Aransas County Court-at-Law.