Dr. Phil Goes Behind Prison Walls to Confront an Accused Child Abuser 5/9/07

DR. PHIL GOES BEHIND PRISON WALLS TO CONFRONT A FATHER ACCUSED OF ABUSING HIS SON BY LOCKING HIM AWAY FROM THE WORLD FOR THREE YEARS, ON "A DR. PHIL PRIMETIME SPECIAL: CAGED," TO BE BROADCAST FRIDAY, MAY 18

Renowned Talk Show Host and Bestselling Author in Exclusive Jailhouse Interview With the Accused Randall Piercy

In an exclusive and shocking jailhouse interview, Dr. Phil McGraw goes behind prison walls to confront a father who is accused of aggravated child abuse after he allegedly locked his 9-year-old son away from the world for three years, on A DR. PHIL PRIMETIME SPECIAL: CAGED, a new one-hour special to be broadcast Friday, May 18 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The broadcast marks Dr. Phil's seventh primetime special for the Network.

Imagine a father, locking his young son, then just 6 years old, in a room monitored 24/7 by surveillance cameras. Imagine the father taping the light switch so the boy can't turn it off or on. Imagine that father covering the only window with brown paper so the child does not know if it is day or night. Imagine the father forbidding that child from using the bathroom just outside the door to his prison. These are the accusations leveled at Randall Piercy, a Florida man currently in prison awaiting trial for allegedly keeping his now 9-year-old son under lock and key for a period of three years. The boy's mother, who proclaimed her husband's innocence, has also been arrested.

Face-to-face with Randall Piercy, Dr. Phil tries to determine the truth behind the accusations, but what he uncovers is a web of contradictions. Is Randall a father who says he was only trying to protect a child who was out of control, or is he an abuser who shamelessly tormented the boy as well as another of his siblings? Dr. Phil also interviews the child's two older brothers who each insist they know what really happened: one claims his father is a saint, the other says he's a monster. Someone is clearly lying, and it is up to Dr. Phil to try to find the answers.

A DR. PHIL PRIMETIME SPECIAL: CAGED was produced by Stage 29 Productions with CBS Television Distribution. Carla Pennington, Dr. Phillip McGraw and Jay McGraw are the executive producers; Lisa Steinke is the supervising producer; Heather Mason is the producer. John Perry served as the director from a script by Carla Pennington and Lisa Steinke.

RATING: To Be Announced

Source: CBS Press Release