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- A Lehi man was arrested Tuesday after police say he assaulted a child following a church volleyball tournament.
- Nathan Jack Speaker, 42, was booked into jail for investigation of aggravated child abuse.
- Speaker is on probation for a previous child abuse conviction, court documents say.
LEHI — A Lehi man was arrested Tuesday and accused of assaulting a child during a church volleyball tournament.
His arrest comes just three months after the man was sentenced for assaulting another child.
Nathan Jack Speaker, 42, was booked into the Utah County jail on Tuesday for investigation of aggravated child abuse and witness tampering.
On March 8, "a church volleyball tournament was concluding at the church building located at 481 E. 300 North in Lehi," and Speaker was one of the last people leaving the gym, according to police.
As several children were "knocking the volleyball around," one child "stepped in front of Nathan and hit the ball away from him. This caused Nathan to become upset and grab the juvenile victim by the throat. Nathan lifted the juvenile victim completely off the ground and the victim stated he could not breathe during this," a police booking affidavit states.
Speaker then threw the boy "across the room" where he collided with another child, the affidavit alleges.
The boy began to cry and "yell at Nathan, stating he choked him." At that point, another adult "had to physically step between Nathan and the juvenile victim as Nathan began to reapproach the (boy). The (boy) yelled for Nathan to stay away from him," the affidavit says.
Later that night, Speaker wrote a letter of apology to the boy and sent a text message to the boy's mother asking her not to report the incident to the police, according to the affidavit.
Speaker was convicted last fall of child abuse, a class A misdemeanor, after grabbing a 14-year-old girl by the throat, according to court records. He was sentenced in December to two years of probation and given credit for the six days he served in jail following his arrest.
In his latest arrest report, Lehi police noted that "as this case progressed, Nathan was advised by phone that he would be taken into custody on these charges. Nathan actively evaded apprehension by leaving his residence and staying at an unknown location. It took almost four days to locate Nathan and take him into custody. Family members knew where Nathan was staying but would not tell law enforcement."
