Hero waitress saves five-year-old boy from his abusive parents by passing him a note asking ‘ do you need help?’
- Police say Flavaine Carvalho helped the boy escape a possibly abusive home
- She became concerned when she noticed cuts and bruises on the boy’s face
- Timothy Wilson II, 34, was charged with counts of aggravated child abuse
- Kristen Swann, 31, was arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect
An Orlando waitress who saved a five-year-old boy from his abusive parents by passing him a note asking ‘do you need help?’ has been hailed as a hero.
Police said that the actions of Flavaine Carvalho helped the boy escape a possibly abusive home when she passed him the note at at the Mrs Potato Restaurant on January 1.
The boy’s stepfather Timothy Wilson II was first arrested on one count of third-degree child abuse.
Wilson was later arrested for a second time on January 6 and charged with multiple counts of aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
Flavaine Carvalho who saved a five-year-old boy from his abusive parents by passing him a note asking ‘do you need help?’ (pictured) has been hailed as a hero
Carvalho said during a press conference that when the family sat at a table, she noticed that everyone received food except for the child, according to WOFL-TV.
Wilson, who is 34, told her that the boy would eat dinner at home, Carvalho said, before she noticed that the boy had bruises over his face and arms.
‘I could see he had a big scratch between his eyebrows,’ Carvalho said.
‘A couple of minutes later, I saw a bruise on the side of his eye. So I felt there was something really wrong.’
She secretly wrote the note reading ‘do you need help? OK’ and stood behind the boy’s so they could not see.
He initially declined help before signalling yes after a second attempt and she called 911.
In audio released by police from her phone call, Carvalho said: ‘I’m super concerned and I don’t know what to do, can you give me some advice? What I can do?
‘The boy is with bruises and he’s not eating. The others are eating.’
The boy was taken to hospital and doctors found he was 20lb underweight and had bruising on his face and arms.
The boy’s stepfather Timothy Wilson II (left), 34, was first arrested on one count of third-degree child abuse. The boy’s mother Kristen Swann (right), 31, was arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect
Police said the boy’s parents subjected him to other abuse as well, including forcing him to do 30-minute planks and beating him if he failed.
At a press conference, a spokesperson said: ‘What this child had gone through, it was torture.
‘Seeing what that 11-year-old had to go through, it shocks your soul.’
The boy told police that ratchet straps were tied around his ankles and neck, and he was hung upside down from a door on one occasion.
He said he was hit with a wooden broom and handcuffed and tied to a large moving dolly. He also said he didn’t get to eat on a regular basis as punishment.
His mother Kristen Swann, 31, was arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect.
The boy has been taken into the custody of custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families along with his four-year-old sibling.