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Police have released shocking images of inside a Connecticut home where a man was allegedly held captive for two decades by his stepmother.
Multiple images shared by the Waterbury Police Department show the disgusting conditions in which the man, who remains anonymous, was forced to live.
Dirt, mold, mess and debris are present throughout many rooms in the house, including bedrooms, the living room and bathroom. Part of the house’s ceiling appears to be damaged, with beams exposed and some windows had been bordered up.
Authorities also released multiple pictures of the room where the man was held – which were severely fire damaged.
The 32-year-old set fire to his room in mid-February, in a desperate attempt to escape. Police and fire officials responded to the scene after his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, called 911.
He later told officials “I wanted my freedom” and said he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was 11 years old. The man claimed he was given minimal food or water throughout the years.
It was reported at the time that the man was “extremely emaciated” and weighed just 69 pounds, despite being 5 foot 9 inches tall.
Sullivan, 56, was arrested and charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty and reckless endangerment. She has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty at her arraignment.
She later posted $300,000 bail and was allowed to leave, though prosecutors requested electronic monitoring as well as house arrest due to flight risk concerns.
Following the hearing, Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Don Therkildsen Jr. expressed the victim's bewilderment at Sullivan's lack of incarceration, given the gravity of the alleged crimes.
“This victim is afraid. This victim lives in fear,” Therkildsen said in court. “I introduced myself to the victim, explained who I was. His first question in this fear is, ‘Why is she out walking around when I was locked up in a room for 20 years?’”
According to court documents obtained by The New York Times, the man claimed that Sullivan had kept him locked in an eight by nine foot room most of the day, letting him out only to go to school or do household chores.
The rest of the time, was locked in the small room, and was allegedly forced to defecate onto newspapers laid out onto the floor and urinate in a bottle, while suffering from hunger, the documents claimed.
According to The Times, while at school he would beg classmates for food or scavenge from trash cans.
The man was later pulled out of school, and began living a life of “brutally consistent” deprivation, he said and detailed by police. His room was often locked from the outside with no heat or air.
The last time the boy left the property was as a teenager to dump yard waste with his father, per the warrant. He told police he was too afraid to escape and knew his stepmother had a gun.
Sullivan’s lawyer previously told NBC Connecticut that the claims against his client were “outlandish” and that she was “blown away” after hearing them. “She completely maintains her innocence, from our perspective. These allegations are not true,” the lawyer said.
“We look forward to being able to vindicate her and show that she’s done nothing wrong.”
