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Utah County GOP Chair Charged With Aggravated Child Abuse After Daughter Alleges 'Waterboarding'

A probable-cause affidavit details the teen’s account of repeated dunking under a bathroom sink.

Overview

  • Police in Heber City arrested David Nephi Johnson after a DCFS report, charging him with first-degree felony aggravated child abuse.
  • The 16-year-old told investigators he grabbed her by the neck, submerged her head in a sink multiple times, and then told her to clean her room.
  • Authorities placed the teen with an adult sibling, while two younger children remain with their parents as investigators say the abuse appears ongoing and that he poses a threat.
  • The girl reported that her now 8-year-old brother was subjected to similar treatment in prior years.
  • Johnson was released on $10,000 bail and is due in court on March 11, as the Wasatch County GOP installs Vice Chair Patty Sprunt as interim leader.