A GOP county chairman in Utah was arrested for allegedly “waterboarding” his teenage daughter after becoming angry over the cleanliness of her bedroom.
“County prosecutors have charged 54-year-old David Nephi Johnson with a first-degree felony count of aggravated child abuse for the alleged incident in early January,” The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Johnson is the Wasatch County GOP chairman.
The 54-year-old made his initial court appearance on Thursday and was released from jail after posting bail.
Wasatch County GOP Chair David Nephi Johnson, accused of waterboarding a 16-year-old relative, has been arrested on charges of felony child abuse. https://t.co/SnI2bTxTnJ
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) February 11, 2026
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Johnson was elected chairman of the Wasatch County Republican Party in May 2025. As of Wednesday, the county party had removed his photograph from its website.
According to the report, Johnson’s relative told a DCFS investigator they were taken into a bathroom and had their head pushed into a sink of running water. The relative says Johnson repeatedly dunked their head under the open tap and felt they “couldn’t breathe for about 20 to 30 seconds.”
It also says the teen described two other incidents in which Johnson used his backhand to strike their torso causing bruising that lasted about a week and left a “big red mark where his hand was.”
According to WKRC, a police affidavit said Johnson became angry about the condition of her bedroom and required it to be “spotless.”
“Heber City Police Department has arrested a local man following an investigation into allegations of aggravated child abuse involving a juvenile,” the Heber City Police Department said in a release.
“Detectives with the Heber City Police Department initiated an investigation after receiving information alleging that a father had subjected his 16-year-old daughter to waterboarding as a form of punishment. During the course of the investigation, detectives also learned that the juvenile had been backhanded on the torso, resulting in visible bruising,” the release continued.
“Through interviews and a thorough investigation, detectives determined that aggravated child abuse had occurred. As a result, David Johnson was arrested on February 10, 2026, and booked into the Wasatch Count jail on charges of Aggravated Child Abuse,” it added.
WKRC shared further:
The affidavit also references additional alleged incidents involving siblings, including a similar incident involving a younger brother.
In a statement posted on social media, the Wasatch County GOP said it was “deeply concerned and troubled” by the allegations. The party said it held an emergency meeting and appointed its vice chair as acting leader.
“The Republican Party stands for the protection of the vulnerable and the upholding of the law,” the statement said. “We encourage the community to refrain from judgment until the facts and evidence have been presented.”
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