ORLANDO, Florida – A waitress worried that a young boy might be abused has secretly given him notes to see if he needs help, reports say.
When Flaviane Carvalho flashed a letter with the words “Need your help” to the boy, he nodded yes. It was then that Carvalho, a manager and server Potato Restaurant, which called the Orlando Police Department, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
Police acknowledge Carvalho for rescuing the son from abused parents, according to USA Today.
“Abuse,” I say lightly, “Detective Erin Lawler told the Sentinel on Thursday. “It was torture.”
The boy’s 34-year-old stepfather, Timothy Wilson II, was arrested on charges of child abuse and neglect the night the waitress called police, according to a statement. The child’s 31-year-old mother, Kristen Swann, 31, who was also in the restaurant, was arrested a week later on a charge of child neglect.
According to police, the incident took place on January 1 in the restaurant, clickorlando.com reports. The boy was in the restaurant with his stepfather, mother and younger sister.
Carvalho said she noticed the boy had scratches and bruises, and that he was the only one who did not receive an order for food.
“When I looked at the boy, I saw a big scratch between his eyebrows,” Carvalho said in a video released by OPD. “I began to notice them and could see that he was very quiet and sad.” She says she first flashed a sign to him asking if he was okay, and then another asked if he needed help.
The Sentinel reports the boy was examined in a hospital and had bruises on his eyelids, earlobes and arms. He was also 20 pounds underweight.
Police told the Sentinel the boy said his parents were withholding food as punishment and that he would let him exercise excessively. The boy said he was hung upside down by a door while tied to his ankles and neck and that he was hit by objects and fists. He was apparently also handcuffed to a moving wagon.
“The child was destined to be killed,” police chief Orlando Rolón told Sentinel. ‘This is how serious the injuries were. This is how awful the memory of the abuse the child shared with us. ”