Waterboarding used on girl, 4

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A former US soldier has been accused of waterboarding his 4-year-old daughter because she would not recite the alphabet.

Thurston County prosecutors have charged 27-year-old Joshua Ryan Tabor with second-degree assault after he reportedly dunked the little girl's head under water because she "would not say her letters".

The News Tribune of Tacoma reported the 27-year-old's girlfriend called police to their home in Yelm, Washington Sunday because Tabor had dunked his daughter's head in the kitchen sink.

"From what I understand it is very similar to waterboarding," Yelm police chief Todd Stancil said. ''She would not recite her ABCs is what we gathered, so according to him that was a perfectly fine punishment.

''The suspect was intoxicated, walking around the neighbourhood with a kevlar helmet. Once the girlfriend of Mr Tabor disclosed that he abused his four-year-old daughter, we shifted our investigation to the daughter."

The child is now in custody of Child Protective Services. She had bruises on her back and scratch marks on her neck and told police, "Daddy did it."

Tabor was released from jail Monday after posting US$10,000 bail and is restricted to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

- AP