Judge closes hearing in case involving mother accused of sexualizing 6-year-old at pageants

A judge in Campbell County closed a hearing in a high-profile child custody case Saturday and put a gag order on the mother, who had "claimed that her ex-husband was using [her daughter's] participation in child beauty pageants as a reason for the court to award him full custody," reports Meaghan Murphy of WXIX-TV. Family Court Judge Rick Woeste also ordered that 6-year-old Madisyn "Maddy" Verst and her mother could not participate in any pageants "until further notice," Murphy reports. The proceedings are to resume Aug. 31.

Maddy's "saucy shake and shimmy landed her on the cover of People magazine, with the headline asking, 'Gone Too Far?'," Murphy reports. A court-appointed psychologist said the mother, Lindsay Jackson, was sexualizing her daughter. Jackson denied that, saying the child's padded Dolly Parton outfit on the "Toddlers and Tiaras" TV reality show on TLC was "designed to represent our state. Dolly’s from Tennessee. . . . I shouldn’t be at risk of losing my child simply because she participates in a hobby that some people don’t like." (Read more) For a Fox News report and talking-heads debate aired before the recent hearing, click here.