Waitress saves boy from abusive parents
Not all heroes wear capes. This one waitress saved an 11-year-old boy from his allegedly abusive parents by passing him a note asking if he needed help. Talk about being there at the right time...
A waitress by the name of Flavaine Carvalho from Orlando, US, was working at Mrs Potato Restaurant on 1 January when she saw a boy that needed some help.
She did so by handing him a note which read: "Do you need help?" after she saw some bruises on him.
Read: SA woman opens case against person who shared viral abuse video
After the rescue, the young boy's mom, 31-year-old Kristen Swann, and stepfather, 34-year-old Timothy Wilson II, were arrested.
The stepfather was arrested on one count of third-degree child abuse, and five days later was arrested again and charged with multiple counts of aggravated child abuse and neglect.
The mother, on the other hand, was charged with two counts of child neglect.
Ms Carvalho said she decided to intervene when she noticed something was wrong when both the parents received food but that nothing for the boy.
She added that when she asked the stepfather about the young boy not having any food, his response was that the boy would eat at home. The child was also covered with bruises all over his arms and face
She said:
I could see he had a big scratch between his eyebrows. A couple of minutes later, I saw a bruise on the side of his eye. So I felt there was something really wrong.
After that shocking conversation with the stepfather, she then approached the child secretly, giving him the note, standing behind him so that his parents couldn't read it.
After that, the boy signaled that he did want help.
The boy is with bruises and he's not eating. The others are eating.
After the boy was rescued and taken to hospital, the doctors found out that the boy was 20lbs underweight.
The boy also told police he had been subjected to incredible levels of abuse, saying his stepfather beat him with a wooden broom, hung him upside down on one occasion, and forced him to do 30-minute planks.
The boy was also not allowed to eat on a regular basis and would be tied around his neck and ankles with ratchet straps. He told police that he would also be handcuffed and tied to a large, moving dolly.
At a press conference, a police 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 has a four-year-old sibling. They have both been taken into custody by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Image courtesy of Fox35
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