Police: Fort Lewis soldier used water torture on daughter, 4

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By KOMO Staff & News Services

Summary

"He would fill a kitchen sink full of water, put her on her back on the counter and hold her head into the water right until it would get up to eyes," the Yelm police chief said. "She was deathly afraid of water."

Story Published: Feb 9, 2010 at 7:06 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 2, 2010 at 4:02 PM PDT

Police: Fort Lewis soldier used water torture on daughter, 4
SEATTLE -- A Fort Lewis Army sergeant who served in Iraq is facing allegations of using water torture to punish his 4 year old daughter for not reciting the alphabet.

Army Sgt. Joshua Tabor has been charged with assault and restricted to the Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Police in Yelm responded to a report of a drunk man wearing a Kevlar helmet and threatening to bust residents' windows.

Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil said the focus quickly shifted when the soldier's live-in girlfriend told investigators Tabor beat his 4-year-old daughter. Investigators detained Tabor and coaxed his young daughter out of the bathroom at 2 a.m.

"She had locked herself into the bathroom for fear of her dad," said Stancil.

The girl was covered in bruises from her ears to her legs, according to police.

"When we asked her how she got the bruises, she told us that her daddy had done this and that he had used his hands," Stancil said.

Tabor admitted bruising could have been the result of her child tried to fight off her punishment for not reciting the alphabet.

"He openly admitted to a portion of it," said Stancil. "He would fill a kitchen sink full of water, put her on her back on the counter and hold her head into the water right until it would get up to eyes, right at the eye line. He would do this because she would not say her ABCs and also because she was deathly afraid of water."

Police claim Tabor, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, acted as if that were an acceptable form of punishment.

But Tabor's attorney claims the full story has yet to be told, and added he takes issue with what police are saying his client has admitted.

Tabor's estranged wife, Tiffany Stone, said she was saddened but not surprised by the recent events. Stone said her husband's anger issues began before deployment.

"We knew he was very capable of it and we tried to keep him from getting her," she said.

Tabor's current live-in girlfriend also told police he has an anger management problem. Investigators are looking into whether she had any part in the alleged assault.

The 4-year-old girl has been placed in the care of her maternal grandparents in Montana, where she'd spent most of her life. She reportedly told her grandparents she doesn't ever want to leave again.