WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — Police body camera footage shows firefighters rescuing a 32-year-old man in February from a home where he had allegedly been held captive for 20 years.
The video shows a Waterbury police officer walking up to the house on Blake Street on the night of Feb. 17 while the man’s stepmother, 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, asked for help from the sidewalk with a dog in her hands.
According to audio of the call obtained by NewsNation affiliate WTNH, Sullivan had called 911 moments earlier to report the fire and that her stepson had been hurt.
“My stepson is in here,” she told a firefighter.
When a blurred figure emerged from the house, Sullivan said, “Oh, here he is.”
A first responder walked Sullivan away from the house, and the video shows a firefighter carrying someone away from the home and to an ambulance when the footage ended.
Police said the 32-year-old man, who has not been publicly identified, used a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper to set fire to his room to escape. He told authorities he had been held captive since he was 11 years old.
Police said the man told first responders on the scene of the fire, “I wanted my freedom.”
The man was extremely emaciated, his hair was matted and unkempt, and his teeth appeared to be rotted, the arrest warrant for Sullivan said.
Sullivan was arraigned Wednesday on charges of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment. She posted a $300,000 bond and was released from custody on Thursday.
Sullivan’s lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, said this isn’t the full story.
“He was not locked in the room, she did not restrain him in any way, she provided food, she provided shelter,” Kaloidis said. “She is blown away by these allegations.”