A Washington state man is accused of waterboarding and repeatedly striking his 7-year-old daughter, authorities said.
Officers responded to a 7-Eleven in Lakewood on Sunday after a woman reported that her boyfriend, Matthew Farrar, 27, had waterboarded his daughter at the residence they shared, Lakewood Police and Pierce County prosecutors stated in court documents.
The girl, identified only as C.F., told police that Farrar "grabbed his belt and violently spanked" her approximately 13 times for lying and talking back.
The woman said Farrar was using "too much power and too many strikes," and that it was "way overboard" and that the girl was allegedly screaming "bloody murder.”
Farrar then allegedly dragged his daughter into the bathroom, "grabbed a red colored wash towel and wetted it with water." He filled an approximately 17-ounce plastic bottle with water, took C.F. and bent her over the bathtub, leaning her face up, and he held the water-soaked rag over her face, according to the documents.
"He slowly started pouring water onto the hand towel that was held on C.F.'s face, over her mouth and nose," the documents allege.
His girlfriend said she believed he poured water for approximately 15 to 20 seconds. She said she could hear the girl gagging, crying, and gasping for air while yelling, "I can't breathe," according to the documents.
"That's the point, shut up before the neighbors hear," Farrar allegedly responded.
Once he was finished, he yelled at the girl to go change her clothes. His girlfriend said she believed they were unsafe, so she grabbed the girl and fled to the 7-Eleven store where she called 911, according to the court filing.
Officers stopped Farrar as he was making his way to the convenience store, where he admitted he used water and struck the girl about eight times with his belt, according to documents.
“I think it could have been a little too much,” he told the officers.
Officers later went to the apartment and recovered the red hand towel, the water bottle, and the dress the girl was wearing, which was soaked with water.
Farrar was charged with two counts of child abuse.