In a deeply troubling incident, the chairman of a county Republican Party in Utah has been taken into custody and faces charges of aggravated child abuse. The arrest stems from accusations that he forcibly submerged his teenage daughter’s head in a bathroom sink, a punishment for not tidying her room to his satisfaction before she went out with friends.
According to a police report, the Division of Child and Family Services alerted Wasatch County officials on January 21, after the girl reportedly confided in them that she felt her life was in danger and did not feel safe in her own home, as detailed by KSL.
The teenager recounted to child advocates that her father, 54-year-old David Nephi Johnson, subjected her to the ordeal upon her return home. She described how he seized her by the neck, led her to the bathroom, and submerged her head in water. “He dunked my head under, lifted it out, splashed water on my face, and repeated the dunking,” she disclosed in an affidavit.
The distressing account further revealed that this was not an isolated incident. The girl alleged that her siblings also suffered at their father’s hands, including a younger brother who experienced similar abuse. Johnson reportedly “dragged him into the bathroom, forced his head under the water, splashed it on his face, knocked him down, and repeated the action multiple times,” according to the affidavit.
Expressing her ongoing fear, the girl told investigators, “I don’t feel very safe,” as reported by KUTV. She elaborated, “When I go to bed, I feel like I can’t sleep because I don’t feel safe. When my dad’s not home, I feel fine. But when he’s home, I never feel safe because I feel like something is going to happen.”
“I don’t feel very safe,” the girl told investigators, according to KUTV. “When I go to bed, I feel like I can’t sleep because I don’t feel safe. When my dad’s not home, I feel fine. But when he’s home, I never feel safe because I feel like something is going to happen.”
Johnson is the Wasatch County Republican Party chairman, KSL reported.
“The safety and well-being of children are of paramount importance to our party and our community, the party’s executive committee said in a statement. “We are deeply concerned and troubled by the nature of the allegations brought forward by the Heber City Police Department. The Wasatch County GOP Executive Committee met in an emergency session. In accordance with our bylaws, Vice Chair Patty Sprunt will temporarily assume leadership to ensure the party continues its work for the residents of the county without interruption.”
The committee said no evidence had been presented so far and that the “community should refrain from judgement.”
Johnson was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Wasatch County jail.
