11-year-old boy was waterboarded as form of discipline at home, New Mexico cops say

An 11-year-old boy was subjected to water torture as a discipline technique by his mom’s boyfriend, according to Las Cruces Police Department officials in New Mexico.

The procedure, known as waterboarding, is one of several abusive techniques that Dominic Frederick Salas, 37, used to keep the boy and his sister in line, according to investigators.

Salas, 37, now faces four felony counts of intentional child abuse involving three siblings, police said in a Aug. 2 update of the case.

Las Cruces Police began investigating the case at the behest of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. The incidents occurred in 2020, officials said.

“An 11-year-old boy, the son of Salas’ girlfriend, told police he was excessively disciplined by Salas who also threatened to kill him,” police officials said.

“Investigators learned that, in one incident, Salas is accused of grabbing the 11-year-old boy’s neck and lifting him off the floor. In another instance, Salas is accused of holding the boy on the floor and pouring water over his mouth and nose which restricted the boy’s breathing.”

Waterboarding is a “barbaric practice” that involves holding a victim down and pouring water over the face to prevent breathing, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. A cloth is often placed over the victim’s face to avoid rapid drowning, experts say.

“It is a paradigmatic torture technique that has long been considered a war crime,” the ACLU reports.

Salas put a towel over the boy’s face and held him to the floor during the water procedure, according to KFOX14. The boy struggled to breathe “for a minute after the incident until he was able to cough up water,” the station reported, citing court documents.

Salas was arrested July 22 and released the next day “on his own recognizance,” police said.

On July 30, police arrested Rose M. Lopez-Callahan, 36, the mother of children “Salas is accused of intentionally harming,” police said. She is charged with “four counts of intentional child abuse and two counts of failure to report child abuse,” officials said.

“Investigators learned that Lopez-Callahan knew her children were being abused by Salas but did not report the incidents to authorities and, instead, remained in the relationship. Lopez-Callahan has four children 13 years old or younger. Investigators determined that Salas abused three children ages 13, 11 and 2.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 7:33 AM with the headline "11-year-old boy was waterboarded as form of discipline at home, New Mexico cops say."