Police in Texas have launched an investigation after a video surfaced online in which a local family law judge berates and beats his 16-year-old daughter with a belt.
The video runs nearly eight minutes and has been viewed on YouTube more than 600,000 times since it was uploaded last week.
It shows Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams whipping a girl's legs. He grows angrier after the girl refuses to turn over on a bed.
"Lay down or I'll spank you in your (expletive) face," Adams yells, as the girl screams for him to stop.
The YouTube posting indicates the video may have been uploaded by the judge's daughter Hillary Adams, who was the victim of the beating. According to the post, the video was recorded in 2004.
The judge confirmed during an interview Wednesday with Corpus Christi television station KZTV that he did appear in the video. He said the video "looks worse than it is" and that he was disciplining his daughter for downloading music illegally.
William Adams is a family law judge who deals with child abuse cases, according to Sheriff Bill Mills.
The investigation of the judge came about after members of the public who had seen the video called police.
With files from The Associated Press
WARNING: This video posted on YouTube contains graphic content which some viewers may find offensive.
