A dad who tortured his 11-year-old stepson and was caught after a waitress slipped a note to the boy asking if he was okay has been jailed for life.
Timothy Lee Wilson, 36, was found guilty of false imprisonment, aggravated child abuse including with a weapon and child neglect, last June, and he was jailed on Wednesday in Florida.
An Orlando judge gave him four life sentences for the abuse that included the boy being hung upside down, handcuffed and starved.
His actions were uncovered after Flaviane Carvalho, a waitress at a Mrs Potato restaurant in Orlando, gave the 11-year-old boy a note asking if needed any help.
She had seen that Wilson had ordered himself food but none for the boy, who was also covered in scratches, on New Year’s Day 2021.
Ms Carvalho wrote out a note asking “do you need help? Ok” and showed it to the boy behind the back of his parents.
When the boy nodded his head, the waitress then contacted the police.
“I’m super concerned and I don’t know what to do, can you give me some advice?” Carvalho asked a dispatcher, according to WFLA.
She later explained: "I could see he had a big scratch between his eyebrows. Couple of minutes later, I saw a bruise on the side of his eye. So I felt there was something really wrong."
Flaviane added: "I was used like a tool from God to help him. We need to pay attention for the ones that are in need, and step forward to do something to change the situation."
A police investigation found that the youngster had been subject to neglect and torture from Wilson and his mother Kristin Swann.
The abuse included the boy being hung upside down from a door on Christmas Day and being handcuffed to doll. He would also be given military-style exercises, isolated and starved for days.
Officers recovered multiple items used as weapons to punish the boy - including a metal pole, a wooden broom, handcuffs, and ratchet straps.
Praising Flaviane's quick-thinking, Orlando police chief Orlando Rolon said last year: "We probably would’ve been talking about a potential homicide investigation if she had not intervened when she did.
"We firmly believe that without her asking him if he needed help and calling 911, he would have gone even longer without eating or drinking and continuing to be tortured at the hands of Mr Wilson.
“Had she not said anything, I believe law enforcement and the child protection team thought he probably could have died.”
Swann was also charged with neglect and her case is still pending.
