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Bondsman: Dr. Phil Posted Bond For Teen Accused Of Ringleading Videotaped Beating

Posted: 1:10 pm EDT April 12, 2008Updated: 1:50 pm EDT April 12, 2008

The teen accused of masterminding a videotaped "animalistic" attack against a fellow teenage classmate is out on bond, and she has celebrity talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw to thank for it, according to a bail bondsman.

The bondsman told media gathered at a Polk County jail Friday that Dr. Phil posted Mercedes Nichols' $30,000 bond.

When Nichols was released from jail, a man arrived and idenfitied himself as a Dr. Phil producer and ordered local media to leave the area because the Dr. Phil Show had exclusive rights to the story, according to reporters on scene.

The man refused to comment about why Dr. Phil would help someone accused of such a violent crime leave jail, and he would not confirm if Dr. Phil paid for her bond.

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