Washington soldier pleads not guilty to water torturing daughter, 4, to force her to say ABCs

Soldier charged with water torturing daughter, 4

TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington state Army sergeant pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge he used water torture on his 4-year-old daughter to force her to learn the alphabet.

KOMO-TV reports that 27-year-old Joshua Tabor was released from custody on $10,000 bail after his arraignment for assault in Tacoma.

He is confined to the Joint Base Lewis-McChord military base. The veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan wars is a helicopter mechanic.

Tabor is accused of pulling his daughter’s head backward into the kitchen sink at their home in Yelm on Jan. 31 because she would not recite her ABCs.

Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil said Tabor knew she was afraid of water and thought it was an appropriate punishment.

She has been place in the care of her maternal grandparents.

Information from: KOMO-TV, www.komotv.com/