Police detail over 20 years of abuse they say captive man suffered from stepmom

A severely emaciated Connecticut man was allegedly forced to urinate in bottles and locked inside for nearly 24 hours a day during two decades of captivity by his stepmother, police said Thursday.

“In 33 years of law enforcement, this is the worst treatment of humanity that I’ve ever witnessed,” Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo told reporters.

Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was arrested Wednesday and held on a $300,000 bond for alleged crimes against her stepson.

She is accused of first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, first-degree reckless endangerment, and cruelty to persons. Sullivan has denied the allegations.

Sullivan posted bail at about 1:45 p.m. EDT on Thursday and exited the back of a Waterbury courthouse.

At the time of Sullivan’s arrest, her 5-foot-9 stepson, who is now 32 years old, was 68 pounds.

“It was worse than the conditions of a jail cell,” the chief said of the man’s living arrangement.

Authorities say Sullivan drew their attention Feb. 17, when a fire broke out at the family’s home in Waterbury, southwest of Hartford.

At the home, they found a severely malnourished man who had not received medical or dental care in years and had been subjected to “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment,” police said.

The man told police he set the fire, using a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper, as his way to escape.

“I wanted my freedom,” he said, according to an affidavit.

Police revealed Thursday that officers went to the home in 2005, acting on behalf of social workers who’d been contacted by school officials concerned about the then-child’s absence from class.

At the time, it appeared he was well and nothing stood out to officers, authorities said.

“The house was clean. It was lived-in,”  Spagnolo said. “They spoke to the victim at that point in time and there were no cause for any alarm or any conditions that existed that would have led officers to believe anything other than a normal childhood in a normal family existence.”

Also in 2005, the family made a complaint against the school district, accusing it of harassment.

“We have no further information about where that went, other than there was no proof provided by the family that there was any type of harassment that was occurring,” the police chief said. 

But about a decade later, police found that the man had been locked in his room for more than 23 1/2 hours a day.

The State Department of Children and Families said in a Thursday statement that the agency “looked extensively at our current and historical databases and, to date, have been unable to locate any records pertaining to this family.”

The agency added that it regularly expunges records after five years if the investigation is completed “provided there are no other substantiated reports.”

“We will continue our search and ask anyone with additional information to contact the Waterbury Police Department,” the agency said. “These horrors serve as a reminder that it takes the diligent efforts of all members of the community — family, friends, neighbors and professionals — to protect children from abuse and neglect.”

While under the care of his stepmother, police say the victim was forced to rig an elaborate toilet system to relieve himself while confined.

“He would urinate in a bottle and he had straws connected to the bottom of the bottle, and he found a hole in the storm window frame that he was able to put these straws through,” Spagnolo said.

The man’s room was secured from the outside with “a number of different styles of exterior locks,” Spagnolo said.

“As was explained during an interview with the victim, throughout the years, it appeared that the locks increased in security levels as time progressed,” the chief said.

Sullivan made a brief appearance in Waterbury Superior Court on Thursday and declined to make any statements before the judge denied the prosecution’s request to place her under house arrest.

Sullivan will be allowed to travel within Connecticut, though she’ll have to keep in close, regular contact with probation officers.

She denies all allegations against her.

“He was not locked in a room,” defense lawyer Ioannis Kaloidis told NBC Connecticut. “She did not restrain him in any way. She provided food; she provided shelter. She is blown away by these allegations.”

The victim’s father died in January 2024 and had been ill for some time, using a wheelchair by the time he passed away, police said.

There’s no record of any prior arrests of Sullivan, police and her defense lawyers have said.