A Connecticut woman accused of holding her stepson captive for more than 20 years was arrested and charged after he intentionally set a fire in their home in a desperate bid to escape his makeshift prison.
Police officers and firefighters discovered the victim, now 32, on Feb. 17 while responding to a report of an active fire at a residence on Blake Street in Waterbury. When they arrived on the scene around 8:42 p.m., they worked to contain the blaze and helped a man inside escape.
“I wanted my freedom,” he told officers, admitting to first responders that he sparked the blaze.
The man’s stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, meanwhile, had managed to escape the burning home and flee. She was arrested Wednesday on charges of assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree.
Her stepson, who was not identified, told authorities Sullivan had been keeping him prisoner inside a small room since he was just 11 years old, forcing him to endure “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” police said in a statement, further noting noting the man was “in a severely emaciated condition and had not received medical or dental care during this time.”
He said the situation only worsened when his stepfather died last year. When he was found, he weighed just 68 lbs.
“Following these alarming statements, the Waterbury Police Department Major Crimes Unit, in collaboration with the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office, launched an extensive investigation,” authorities continued.
“Detectives determined that the victim had been held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment.”
Sullivan, meanwhile, has denied wrongdoing. She was being held on $300,000 bond.
