Orlando restaurant worker given award for saving boy from possible abuse
ORLANDO, Fla. - A local restaurant manager who is being credited with saving a young boy from a possibly abusive home was recognized for her quick-thinking by Orlando police on Wednesday.
Flavaine Carvalho received the Good Citizenship Award during a ceremony in Orlando.
Back on New Year's Eve, police say she was working at the Mrs. Potato restaurant on Kirkman Road when she noticed a boy at her table in distress. She then used a secret note to ask him if he needed help.
He said yes.
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Officers say she saved him from abusive parents. The boy's stepfather, Timothy Wilson II, was arrested on one count of third-degree child abuse. Wilson was arrested a second time on January 6 and charged with multiple counts of aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
The boy's mother, Kristen Swann, was arrested and charged with two counts of Child Neglect. The couple's 4-year-old child was also removed from the home.
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Last month, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings presented Carvalho with the Mayor's Distinguished Resident Award at a commission meeting.
Carvalho took time to remind people that if you see something, say something.
"Do what you need to do to help a kid."