**EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING IMAGES AND STRONG LANGUAGE**
(Natural sound: YouTube video)
Officials say a county judge in Texas is being investigated after this video posted on YouTube shows what his daughter says is a beating she received in 2004.
The profanity-laced video, now viral on the Internet, shows a man whipping a girl with a belt as she pleads with him to stop.
Hillary Adams says she captured the video with a camera hidden on her dresser. She was 16 then. Now 23, she says in a phone interview, she uploaded the video to help her move on.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) AUDIO OF HILLARY ADAMS, DURING PHONE INTERVIEW, SAYING:
"I said 'I can post the video of you beating me on the Internet,' and he said, 'Well, you can do that if it will make you feel better.' So, I did."
Judge William Adams told a reporter he is the man in the video and he lost his temper while disciplining his daughter for illegally downloading music from the Internet.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WILLIAM ADAMS, SAYING:
"In my mind, I haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child, after she was caught stealing, and I did lose my temper, but I've since apologized. It looks worse than it is. There is a story. It will come out in due time, okay?"
A statute of limitations might prevent criminal charges, but Adams' could potentially be removed from the bench.
Local media reports that Hillary Adams has cerebral palsy.
Katharine Jackson, Reuters.
