Utah News

Lehi Man Accused of Choking Child After Church Volleyball Tournament

keelee-mccain March 13, 2025

LEHI, Utah — A 42-year-old Lehi man is facing serious charges after allegedly choking a child during a church volleyball gathering.

Nathan Jack Speaker has been charged with aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, following an incident that reportedly occurred while he was at the gym with his four children, the victim, and another adult.

Incident Details

According to police reports, the situation escalated when the victim hit a volleyball away from Speaker. Witness statements indicate that this angered Speaker, leading him to grab the child by the throat, lift him off the ground, and then throw him into a group of children.

The victim sustained a contusion near his right eye due to the impact with another child and also scraped his knee in the process.

Though the other adult in the gym did not witness the alleged assault directly, they reportedly heard the victim crying and screaming at Speaker afterward. The witness then took the child home, where the victim later disclosed the incident to his mother.

Authorities say Speaker later wrote an apology letter to the victim and his family, admitting fault. He also allegedly texted the victim’s mother, urging her not to report the incident to law enforcement.

Apprehension and Legal Proceedings

After being informed that charges were being filed against him, Speaker allegedly attempted to avoid arrest. Investigators say they struggled to locate him for four days, as his relatives refused to cooperate despite knowing his whereabouts.

When Speaker was finally taken into custody, he was booked on charges of aggravated child abuse as well as third-degree felony witness tampering. Officials also revealed that Speaker was already on probation for a prior case involving another child.

A judge has ordered that Speaker be held without bail as he awaits a pretrial hearing .

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keelee-mccain

Keelee McCain is a junior at Weber High School. This is her second year on staff, this year as Assistant to the Chief. She does have a life (probably) but she can't think of anything to write in here, so she's probably just going to ramble now. She has an orange cat who she likes better than any human. If you see her being quiet or not sitting on top of a desk, there is something very wrong. In her free time she enjoys harassing her favorite teachers and sleeping. Her life plans include making it through high school and leaving. Happy lifeing.