Subway Manager Reportedly Pleads Guilty After Locking Customer’s Child, 10, in Room After He Mopped

A Florida man reportedly pleaded guilty to child abuse after he allegedly locked a child in a room at a Subway restaurant last year.

People reported on Tuesday, May 5, that James Anthony Morris Jr. pleaded guilty to child abuse on April 30 in Duval County Circuit Court after being arrested in July 2025, according to a judgment obtained by the publication.

According to Law & Crime, the Subway manager was charged with false imprisonment of a child under the age of 13 after he reportedly locked a customer’s 10-year-old daughter in a back room at the restaurant chain because she walked across a freshly mopped floor.

A booking report obtained by People stated that the child’s mother, who was at a Jacksonville Subway, “had just ordered their sandwiches when she noticed the suspect was mopping the floors.”

“She said that the victim accidentally stepped on that portion of the floor, so she told her to apologize to the suspect,” the booking report claimed. “That’s when suddenly the suspect grabbed the victim by the hand [and] quickly escorted the victim to the back of the store behind a locked door.”

When the mother tried to open the door, Morris had allegedly “pushed the door closed.”

Law & Crime reported that, last week, Morris was sentenced to two days in jail but that he received credit for time served, so he was left with no further jail time.

Morris was also reportedly sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to stay away from the victim and her mother.

Per the outlet, he was ordered to pay $769 in court fees.

The documents obtained by People stated that Morris was ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and a mental health evaluation as well as “follow up treatment.”