Footage of a father hitting his fifteen year old daughter that was taped back in
2002 and aired Friday as part of a Primetime Live episode about step-families, has led to an
investigation by police in upstate New York. ABC did not report the incident to authorities, claiming it was the only
act of physical violence out of hundreds of hours of footage. The father and stepmother both later admitted,
however, that they had struck the girl before. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, the girl, who is now
eighteen, has come to her father's defense, asking folks to respect their privacy and not to attack him. Nevertheless,
Primetime's
messageboard is lit up with angry missives from people who caught the episode, some demanding ABC give any money
made from advertising to causes promoting child-abuse prevention.
I didn't see the episode, but I would love to hear someone's take on it who actually watched it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-25-2006 @ 2:30PM
Man said...
I saw the entire episode.
A daughter with lives with her dad, stepmom and 3 new siblings. The daughter had all the earmarks of a victim.
She constantly looked for attention from her father and new brother and especially the stepmom.
The stepmom was jealous, evil, petty, manipulative bitch...on good days.
The dad was an angry wuss who gets pushed by his wife and then explodes.
The big fight was about the daughters grades and they ganged up on her and wouldn't let her leave, which was creepy but fine. Thenm when the daughter talekd back dad lept from the couch and pounded her head, while step-mom stayed behind and was creepily shadow-boxing every hit dad made.
The daughter remembers the fight but not the hitting and she forgave dad.
It was the most realistic Cinderella tale I ever saw, very sad. I hope the dad gets prison but I wish the step-mom worse.
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4-25-2006 @ 3:50PM
Susan said...
The dad would sometimes go away to serve in the Military and when he'd return, the daughter would always go and run into his arms "happy" that he was home...if she isn't a victim, I don't know who is.
The step-mother was DISGUSTING...I have no words for her.
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4-25-2006 @ 5:02PM
Ron Savage said...
I've been thinking about that young woman, Kyle, since that show aired. That whole segment digusted me.
And it wasn't the hitting that bothered me the most. It's that her father kept calling her the "b" word, a lying "b." That moment destroyed me the most.
I can't believe ABC didn't report these two. The stepmother looked like she had mental problems. And her father seemed like he just didn't give a damn. That whole segment was sickening. Even the therapists had to turn away.
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4-25-2006 @ 5:13PM
meb said...
I grew up with an evil stepmother and still carry the effects. That being said, my stepmother was a saint compared to that biotch. For the father to go off regularly and leave his daughter with that woman is criminal. AND, for him to gang up on his daughter shows what a wuss he is. I have ADHD and that girl was trying very hard to please and never got any good feedback from it. It brought back horrible memories, but at least my dad was on my side. He didn't know a lot of what went on.
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5-17-2006 @ 4:47PM
debby spivey said...
I sm so disgusted by the report on the family where Kyle was so mistreated. I cannot believe that a parent, step or not, would use such language that the younger children would teach each other how to close their others and recite "Hail Mary's". Then for the "real" father to call his daughter not just a bitch, but then a lying bitch, is unforgiveable. The fact that this young lady would defend her father now is not surprising; that is typical behaviour of an abused person. I sincerely hope that child abuse charges are brought on both of these so-called parents before they damage their "biological" children any further!!!
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