MIDDLEBURG, Fla. -- The former owner of a tree service was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 2013 death of a teenage boy who was working for him.
Jonathan Harves Wilkes, 37, plead guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and was sentenced on Feb. 6, according to court documents.
Blake Bryant, 14, of Palatka fell from a 71-foot tree after he accidentally cut through his safety harness while working for John Wilkes Tree Service in Middleburg.
Wilkes turned himself into CCSO after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Bryant's normal duties included moving limbs and branches and his family had no idea that he was climbing trees.
Wilkes believed that Bryant was 16 years old, according to the affidavit, but a state statute restricts employment of minors under 18 in a logging occupation.
