Man says he was held captive in room 20 years and set fire to escape, but stepmother denies all
Waterbury, Connecticut. – A Connecticut man said he was rescued after 20 years of captives and told the first responder that he did so to gain freedom.
The man’s stepmother was charged with cruelty and kidnapping.
Waterbury rescued the thin 32-year-old man from the upstairs room after being deployed to a house fire last month, police said in a statement. While receiving treatment for smoke inhalation, he revealed that he intentionally set a fire.
“I want my freedom,” police said, saying he has been captured since he was 11 years old.
The man was not released, “had been imprisoned for more than 20 years and had prolonged abuse, hunger, serious neglect and inhuman treatment.”
“The victim has been suffering for more than 20 years and is both heartbreaking and unimaginable,” Chief Fernando Spagnolo said in a statement.
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was identified as the man’s stepmother and was charged with the danger of assault, kidnapping, illegal restraint, cruelty and recklessness. She was arraigned Wednesday in lieu of a $300,000 margin.
Waterbury Police Department via AP 
She owned the house, and the fire was in the house when it started, but was safely evacuated, CBS Hartford, Conn. Member WFSB-TV Report.
The man “lighted the fire with some manual disinfectant, some paper lit from the printer, and when he locked it from outside in that room.
Sullivan’s attorney Ioannis Kaloidis said her client was “shocked to hear the charges” and denied them.
“What she pointed out to me is that they are absolutely not true and as we get more information, we intend to make a strong defense,” Kaloidis told the Associated Press over the phone. “But she is determined that she hasn’t done what she’s accused of.”
He said he was still collecting information and could not immediately say whether other people lived at home.
WFSB reported that in court, Sullivan’s lawyer said: “It’s definitely not true.
WFSB noted that when he was taken to the hospital, he weighed only 68 pounds.
“He is not exaggerating, similar to the survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp,” the prosecutor said.
