A US soldier has been charged with assault after allegedly punishing his four-year-old daughter with water, police in Washington state have said.

Sgt Joshua Tabor dunked the girl's head in a sink full of water for not reciting the alphabet, police in the town of Yelm said.

Yelm police chief Todd Stancil said Sgt Tabor was arrested on 31 January.

The girl was then found hiding in a locked bathroom in the soldier's home, Mr Stancil said on Monday.

"From what I understand it is very similar to waterboarding," Mr Stancil said of the alleged offence, according to the AFP news agency.

"And to make it only worse, the daughter is afraid of water," the police chief told AFP.

Waterboarding is an interrogation technique that simulates drowning and has been banned as torture by the US.

Officers were called after Sgt Tabor was seen walking around his neighbourhood holding a Kevlar helmet and threatening to break windows, the police chief added.

Sgt Tabor posted bail of $10,000 (£6,400) on Monday and has been confined to barracks at his base in Washington state.

Sgt Tabor is a helicopter repairer who served in Iraq from 2007-08.