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David Johnson (Wasatch County GOP/Facebook).
In a troubling case out of Utah, a local GOP chairman is facing serious allegations after reportedly “waterboarding” his teenage daughter over a disagreement about the cleanliness of her room. The incident has led to charges of aggravated child abuse against 54-year-old David Nephi Johnson.
The allegations came to light through a probable cause affidavit, as reported by Law&Crime. The Heber City Police Department responded to a report of child abuse, where the 16-year-old victim expressed feeling unsafe at home and fearing for her life.
During interviews with authorities, the teenager recounted the harrowing experience, stating that around a week prior, her father became enraged over her bedroom not meeting his standards. She explained that after returning from an outing with friends, Johnson was displeased with the state of her room and her decision to go out before making it “spotless.”
According to the affidavit, Johnson allegedly seized his daughter by the neck and dragged her to the bathroom, where he submerged her head in a sink filled with water. He reportedly repeated this action multiple times, splashing her face and submerging her head again, leaving her unable to breathe for approximately 30 seconds. The teenager described the experience as feeling like she was drowning.
Following the ordeal, Johnson reportedly instructed his daughter to clean her room. Investigators inquired about her feelings after the traumatic event, highlighting the severe impact it had on her wellbeing.
“I kind of felt sick afterwards,” she told investigators. “Like I couldn’t breathe. So it made my stomach feel a little sick.”
The victim said Johnson had done the same thing to her now-8-year-old brother a few years ago. She also said Johnson backhanded her in the stomach “because she wasn’t compliant to do something.”
“He made fun of me for crying,” she said.
She went on to say she does not feel safe when her father is home because she thinks something violent may occur.
“When I go to bed, I feel like I can’t sleep because I don’t feel safe,” she told cops.
Authorities removed the girl from the home and placed her with an adult sibling while the two younger kids remain in the care of Johnson and his wife. Cops believe the abuse has been “ongoing” throughout the children’s lives but they were “too fearful to report it.” Johnson “poses a substantial threat to the two younger children,” cops said.
Johnson is the chair of the Wasatch County Republican Party. The vice president will take over the organization as the legal process plays out, the Wasatch County GOP said in a statement.
“The safety and well-being of children are of paramount importance to our party and our community,” the statement also said. “We are deeply troubled by the nature of the allegations brought forward by the Heber City Police Department.”