State Attorney Monique H. Worrell Announces Guilty Verdict in Child Abuse and Neglect Case
ORANGE COUNTY (June 6, 2022) — Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique H. Worrell announces a six–person jury in Orange County found Timothy Lee Wilson, 36, guilty of 2 counts of false imprisonment on a child under the age of 13, 3 counts of aggravated child abuse with a weapon, 4 counts of aggravated child abuse, and one count of child neglect.
The charges stemmed from a critical call to 911 made by an Orlando waitress, Ms. Flaviane Carvalho, at the Mrs. Potato restaurant on New Year’s Day 2021. Ms. Carvalho noticed that a family of 4 entered the restaurant around 11:00PM, and the 11-year-old victim was secluded from the rest of the family. He was being deprived of food and beverages. When Ms. Carvalho noticed injuries on the victim, she signaled to identify whether he was in need of help by holding up a sign out of the sight of Mr. Wilson, and he acknowledged that he did.
Subsequent investigations revealed the victim was the stepson of Mr. Wilson. He had been tortured, maliciously punished, and deprived of food and water for days at a time. A search warrant revealed that the victim was kept in a separate hotel room used for storage, away from Mr. Wilson, the victim’s mother, and the younger sibling. Duct tape covered the peep hole to the victim’s room, 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. Officers recovered multiple items used as weapons—a bent metal pole, a wooden broom, a dolly cart, handcuffs, and ratchet straps used to tie the victim up.
Through the tireless efforts of Assistant State Attorneys Lauryn Day and Olivia Walker, the jury ultimately returned a verdict of guilty on all counts as charged after two hours of deliberation.
Mr. Wilson will be sentenced on Friday, August 19, 2022, at 10:30 am.
The Ninth Judicial Circuit’s State Attorney Office thanks the Orlando Police Department, and specifically, Detective Erin Lawler Smith for their diligent work on this case.
###
The Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit is represented by The Honorable Monique H. Worrell and serves Orange and Osceola counties in Central Florida. A culturally diverse community, the area is home to nearly 1.4 million residents and is a vacation destination for millions each year. Our office is committed to making Orlando and the surrounding area a vibrant and safe place to live, work and play.
For general media inquiries, please contact: PIO@sao9.org.
For media records request, please contact: mediarecordsrequest@sao9.org.
For specific media inquiries pertaining to State Attorney Monique Worrell, please contact Keisha Mulfort at kmulfort@sao9.org.
