Waterbury Woman Charged In Captivity Case Appears In Court

WATERBURY, CT — State prosecutors want to modify the conditions of release for a Waterbury woman accused of holding her stepson captive for two decades.

Kimberly Sullivan, 56, of Blake Street, who is free after posting bail, appeared briefly in Superior Court in Waterbury on Wednesday before Judge Joseph Schwartz.

Police in March charged Sullivan, 56, with first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment in the case, which has garnered worldwide attention.

Donald E. Therkildsen Jr., supervisory assistant state’s attorney, said in court the state is filing a motion to modify the conditions of Sullivan’s release, but he did not elaborate on what changes it would like to make.

Sullivan did not enter a plea at the proceeding.

The case was continued until Friday, March 28, to give Sullivan’s defense counsel time to review the state’s motion.

Sullivan’s defense attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis of Waterbury, said he believes the state wants to ask that Sullivan be subject to electronic monitoring such as a GPS bracelet.

Kaloidis spoke with a crowd of media representatives gathered outside the courthouse after the hearing.

He said his client “100 percent” stands by her denial of the accusations and is “shocked” by them.

“The state has made allegations, and the state has to prove those allegations in court,” Kaloidis said. “Those allegations are serious, but those allegations are made by one person. I understand the whole world has jumped on those allegations and has already convicted my client. But the good thing about America is that’s not how we work. She is presumed innocent.”

According to Kaloidis, his client has been “convicted worldwide” in the court of public opinion, and “everyone wants to proceed to a lynching.”

“We have a system, she has rights, the same rights that everyone else has,” he said. “We intend on protecting those rights and her having her day in court.”

According to police, the man, now aged 32, weighed just 68 pounds when he set his house on fire on Feb. 17. Firefighters responded to Sullivan’s house, at 2 Blake St., and put out the fire. Two occupants had been inside, including Sullivan and her stepson, police said.

Sullivan was able to escape safely. The stepson remained inside, but firefighters helped him out. He suffered smoke inhalation and exposure to the fire, police said. The man told first responders he intentionally set the fire stating, “I wanted my freedom,” police said. The man told police Sullivan had been holding him captive in the house since he was about 11 years old.

Police and organizations helping the man say he has a long road to recovery, both physically and mentally.

After the man’s rescue at the fire scene, police observed he was “extremely emaciated,” dirty, with matted and unkempt hair and rotten teeth, according to the arrest warrant affidavit filed by Waterbury police.

The man told police he had been held captive since he was about age 11, and he reported that his stepmother kept a lock on the outside of his bedroom door, the warrant shows.

Investigators consulted with the man’s medical caregivers after the fire, and he was described as being near starvation, with a body mass index of 11, about half of what it should be.

As of Wednesday at noon, a GoFundMe campaign raising money on the man’s behalf had raised $195,640. Money raised through the GoFundMe effort will help pay for the man’s medical and dental care, counseling, education, housing, daily living expenses, and support for legal fees, “ensuring he can pursue justice for the abuse he suffered,” according to the campaign.