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PRIMETIME: FAMILY SECRETS
Air Date: Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Time Slot: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: (#F102) "FAMILY SECRETS"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

"PRIMETIME: FAMILY SECRETS" GOES BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS OF THREE FAMILIES TUESDAY, JULY 3 ON ABC

-- Mary Fulginiti Examines the Mystery of a Girl Kept in Her House for Nine Years --

-- A Prince Reveals a Secret That Infuriates His Nation and His Parents --

-- A Stepfather Violates his Daughter's Privacy without Any Legal Retribution --

This week's "Primetime: Family Secrets" goes behind the closed doors of three families including how a royal prince shocked his nation, to the journey of a little girl kept secluded in her house for nine years. Each episode of the limited series looks at the poignant and sometimes shocking secrets of families � why they keep them, how they keep them, and what happens when the truth finally surfaces. "Primetime: Family Secrets" airs TUESDAY, JULY 3 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Imagine a child kept in a house, isolated from the world for nine years. "Primetime" reports on a mysterious story that outraged the city of Austin, TX. Occasionally, neighbors thought they saw a little girl pass by the window. Neighbors say they heard moaning noises and groans emanate from the house, and eventually a neighbor called the authorities. Later they would later learn that a little girl lived in the house with her family but without any plumbing, food, or heat. Rats had taken over the home. The little girl was nine-year-old Victoria Barr and she had never been out of the house in her life. How did Victoria exist? Mary Fulginiti reports on Victoria's survival and her re-birth from a family that took her into their hearts and helped her reclaim her life.

And: As the only son of a royal family, Manvendra Singh Gohil grew up in a world of prestige and privilege. Prince Manvendra, whose family dynasty is more than 600 years old, was surrounded by people who treated him so reverentially that he was 15 before he crossed a street by himself. For years, he followed Indian tradition, including entering an arranged marriage with a beautiful princess that marked the union of two prominent royal families. But after fifteen months of matrimony, Prince Manvendra divorced his wife and a secret he had been keeping since childhood began to unravel. Last March, he revealed that he was gay, to a local newspaper, which promptly put it on the front page. The secret that he harbored for years infuriated his nation and led his own mother to renounce him as heir to the throne. John Quinones reports on the journey of the prince.

Also: Don Dahler updates a report that helped change a Massachusetts criminal law permitting an adult to photograph another adult without their consent or knowledge � even if the photos contain nude images. New England resident Crystal says she knows first-hand how it feels to have her privacy violated. With the help of a computer-savvy friend, she found hundreds of images of herself either partially dressed, or fully undressed, in hidden files on her stepfather Ron's computer that were taken from a webcam in her bedroom over the course of five years, beginning when she was 19. Crystal went to the police; however there were no grounds at the time to prosecute Ron, who was able to keep the computer and the photos. "That made it 10 times worse. It's like being kicked twice," says Crystal. Ron did not agree to interview requests from ABC News. This report originally aired in May 2003.

David Sloan is the executive producer.

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