Connecticut woman accused of holding stepson captive for 20 years pleads not guilty
WATERBURY, Connecticut (WABC) -- The woman accused of holding her stepson captive for decades pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
Kimberly Sullivan appeared in court in Waterbury as part of proceedings that began on Wednesday.
Sullivan opted for a jury trial.
The judge decided she will be outfitted with a GPS tracking bracelet, but will not be subject to house arrest.
Sullivan, 56, is charged with kidnapping, felony assault, cruelty to persons and other crimes in connection with keeping her son locked in a room for 20 years.
Last month, he deliberately set a fire to draw first responders and was rescued.
Body camera footage shows the now 32-year-old being carried by a firefighter.
The man, who police have not named, was 5-feet-9-inches tall and weighed only 69 pounds.
He said he had been locked in a small room with no heat or air conditioning for most of every day since he was about 11 years old.
Back in 2005, Waterbury Police and Children's Services conducted a welfare check when the victim was 11 and had stopped going to school. The department said nothing unusual was detected. They went on to uncover the victim had begged classmates for food and ate items out of the garbage.
The victim says for years he was only allowed briefly out of his room to do chores and that conditions in the house became worse when his father died last year.
The victim's biological mother says she never stopped searching for her son.
Heather Tessman, the victim's half-sister, said police have not allowed her or her mother, who gave up custody of her son when he was an infant, to visit him as he recovers at an undisclosed location, because of the ongoing investigation.
His biological mother, Tracy Vallerand, said she hasn't seen her son since he was 6 months old when she gave up custody, which she said she thought at the time was in his best interest.
Sullivan's next court date is set for April 22nd.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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