On March 22, the production of an upcoming episode of ABC's Wife Swap reality show came to a halt when the film crew turned in the father of one of the participating families for suspected child abuse. Yanni Panagiotakis, 38, a Nashville restauranteur, was alleged to have struck his 13-year-old daughter in the face during filming. He was later charged with domestic assault and freed Wednesday morning on $1,000 bail.
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After talking to the girl, the Wife Swap crew took the girl to a local doctor's office for treatment and to a hospital for X-rays. The Tennessean reported that a police affidavit said the girl had a ''busted'' and bruised nose and a bruised and swollen right check. When she was released from the hospital, the crew moved the girl and her 9-year-old brother to a hotel, where they were joined by a representative from the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.
At the same time, production of the other part of the episode, which paired Yanni's wife Dina (who co-owns the family restaurant with her husband) with a family in California, was halted, and Dina returned to Nashville. According to its producers, production of the Wife Swap episode will be abandoned.
