ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A jury found an Orange County man guilty in connection with a severe case of child neglect that made national headlines.
Timothy Lee Wilson, 36, was convicted on two counts of false imprisonment of a child, three counts of aggravated child abuse with a weapon, four counts of aggravated child abuse, and one count of child neglect.
On New Year’s Day 2021, a waitress at the Mrs. Potato restaurant called 911 to report a case of child neglect.
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The waitress, Flavaine Carvalho, told officers she noticed that a family of four entered the restaurant at around 11:00 p.m., and the 11-year-old victim was separated from the rest of the family.
Carvalho said she saw marks on the few inches of skin she could see from underneath the boy’s hoodie, glasses, and face mask.
The waitress wrote, “Are you OK?” on a piece of paper and held it up to where the boy’s parents couldn’t see from their booth.
At first, the boy shook his head, but when she tried asking the boy again if he needed help, he nodded yes.
After calling her boss for advice, Carvalho then called the police.
Investigators found that the boy had been tortured, maliciously punished, and deprived of food and water for days at a time.
A search warrant revealed that the victim was kept in a separate hotel room used for storage, away from his stepfather, the victim’s mother, and a younger sibling.
The boy’s stepfather, Timothy Wilson II, was arrested on multiple counts of aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
Police said when they interviewed the child’s mother, Kristen Swann, she admitted to knowing about the abuse and failing to seek medical care for the boy. She was arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect.
Investigators said both the boy and a 4-year-old girl were removed from the couple’s custody by the Department of Children and Families. They said there was no evidence of physical abuse to the girl.
Police said the family had recently moved to the area and were staying at an extended-stay hotel.
Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug 19.
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