Utah Father Arrested for Allegedly Whipping Daughter with Jump Rope Over Exercise Routine

A Utah father was arrested on October 10 and charged with aggravated child abuse after allegedly whipping his 14-year-old daughter with a jump rope for failing to complete a rigorous weightlifting regimen.

Peter James Reid, 35, of Provo, Utah, was taken into custody after police responded to a suspicious 911 call from his home. An officer at the scene heard a female crying and panting in the background. The girl's mother, Abish Reid, 34, opened the door and told the officer that her husband had hit their daughter.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the teenager was crying and hyperventilating when officers encountered her. She displayed prominent red welts across her lower back, buttocks, and shoulder, consistent with being struck by a jump rope. She also had a welt on her calf from the jump rope's handle. The girl informed officers that she had urinated on herself because she was not allowed to stop exercising and her father expected her to continue despite her exhaustion.

Reid reportedly admitted to police that he struck his daughter with a black, plastic jump rope after she refused to complete her exercises. He told investigators that he had been yelling at her before retrieving the jump rope. He stated that she ran around a squat machine in an attempt to evade his blows, eventually curling into a fetal position, at which point he allegedly struck her three times. Reid then left the home to "cool off."

Reid described the punishing exercise regime he imposed on his daughter, which included working out twice a day, five to six days a week. On the day of the alleged assault, he instructed her to perform 15 consecutive squats with a 115lb barbell. He asserted that his daughter could typically squat 225lb but was struggling with the lighter weight that day. When she only completed two repetitions before stopping, he allegedly made her restart. Her refusal to continue led to the alleged physical assault.

Photographs taken during the investigation documented the extent of the teenager's injuries. When questioned about the urine on his daughter's shirt, Reid allegedly suggested it was a normal occurrence when squatting heavy weights and that a towel had been placed on the ground to manage it. He claimed he had noticed she urinated before he moved behind the squat bar but could not recall the calf injury or whether he had made threats prior to the assault.

Reid is currently being held at Utah County Jail without the possibility of bond. The charge of aggravated child abuse is a first-degree felony.