A Florida man was convicted of child abuse charges after a restaurant employee last year showed the man’s stepson a note asking if he needed help.
Timothy Lee Wilson, 36, was convicted of two counts of false imprisonment on a child under the age of 13, three counts of aggravated child abuse with a weapon, four counts of aggravated child abuse, and one count of child neglect.
The charges come after a woman, Flaviane Carvalho, saw a child with bruises on his face and arms who was sitting at a table she was waiting on in a Florida restaurant on New Year’s Day in 2021. At the time, she also noted the then 11-year-old boy was not allowed to order any food. “Do you need help?” Carvalho wrote on a piece of paper, holding the note out of view of the adults at the table before the boy signaled that he did need help.in a video released by the Orlando Police Department.She called 911, and police officers arrived and spoke to the boy, who said his stepfather, Wilson, had repeatedly beat him. USA TODAY previously reported that Wilson was arrested on a child abuse charge before being arrested again days later on additional child abuse and neglect charges.