Judge hands down a life sentence to an Orlando man found guilty of abusing his stepson
On Friday, a judge in Orlando handed down a life sentence to an Orlando man who was found guilty of abusing and starving his stepson, who was 11 years old at the time. The stepson was rescued by a concerned waiter at a restaurant last year.
During his trial in June at the Orange County Courthouse, a jury found Timothy Lee Wilson, 36, guilty of 10 felonies, including aggravated child abuse with a weapon, false imprisonment of a minor under 13, and child neglect.
Julio Semino, a spokesman for the Ninth Judicial Circuit court administration, said that Wilson was given a mix of life sentences and consecutive 30-year sentences by Circuit Judge Wayne Wooten.
Kristen Swann, the boy’s mother, was found guilty after pleading no contest to three counts, including child neglect, aggravated child abuse, and failure to report child abuse.
According to the office of Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell, Flaviane Carvalho, a waitress at Mrs. Potato Restaurant on South Kirkman Road, called 911 on New Year’s Day 2021 to report injuries she saw on a young boy while he was sitting with his family.
Previous reports said that Carvalho flashed handwritten signs at the youngster behind his parents’ back.
“DO YOU NEED HELP?” one sign said.
After the boy’s affirmative response, Carvalho contacted the Orlando Police Department. Prosecutors said in a statement that they determined Wilson’s stepson had been “tortured, maliciously punished, and deprived of food and water for days.”
Worrell’s office said that the 11-year-old was also held in a different hotel room used for storage, and the peephole to his room was sealed with duct tape.
“He routinely was deprived of food and beverages, was made to do military-style exercises, hung upside down from a door by his neck and feet, and at one point, handcuffed to a dolly cart on Christmas Day,” said prosecutors.
